Peace Weaver
by BlightPurged
Summary: In order to bring peace to a war that's lasted five years, the young Kazekage allies with the Land of Earth. GaaraxOC.
1. Chapter 1

"A tempting offer, isn't it, Gaara?"

The three sand siblings sat crowded around Gaara's desk, in the dead of night. Temari felt as if she were breaking some unspoken code, going behind the elders' backs like this at this time of night to discuss the nation's affairs. Kankuro had tried to convince her that there was no such rule forbidding _counseling _with Gaara, but still, she was not convinced. Her brow lined with sweat and worry, but it was obvious that her brothers did not share her same concern. Kankuro rapped his knuckles with his fingers anxiously while Gaara licked his cracked lips.

"Yeah... it is..."

"So, what're you going to do?" His elder brother whispered.

"She is from Souhon Capital? The north-eastern peninsula of the Land of Earth?"

Kankuro nodded, a grin crossing his broad features, impressed. After all the years his younger brother had under his belt ruling the land of Wind, he'd finally gotten to the point where he'd memorized all the nations and their villages' locations, including the minor regions, like the Swamp islands and River country. The Kazekage no longer reached for the maps whenever the more intricate, almost unnoticeable villages came into play. Gaara folded his hands in front of his mouth, propping his elbows on his desk.

"If Earth Country allied with us, that would help the war effort greatly. The Sound would be completely surrounded on all sides by enemies. As small a nation as they are, there is no question that they are powerful. Since Orochimaru's death, a new leader has taken control of the region, and he seems to be more ruthless than even Orochimaru ever was. Even with its Lightning allies, which the Leaf are holding off remarkably well on their own, there is still that strip of land that separates the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning... The strip of territory that belongs to the Earth."

"Another asset to allying ourselves with the Earth," Kankuro beamed with confidence.

Gaara nodded in approval, but Temari's hands were already shaking.

"Surrounding the Sound will also surround their neighboring villages; the villages of the Grass, Bird, Rain and Waterfall. We can't possibly anticipate their actions if they begin to feel that they too are being cornered. Our past relations with them have been neutral up until now, but who knows how they've interacted with the Sound? What if they feel threatened and form an alliance with the Lightning and Sound against us?"

"That's where the Stone will have to pull their own weight," Came the Kazekage's blunt reply.

"G-Gaara!" Temari protested in horror.

"Don't tell me you mean to make sacrifices of them! What about the barter you'll make with the Earth if you agree to this?"

"I will honor my deal with them," He corrected his sister boldly.

"They need us as well. Have you forgotten that it was _they _who proposed this alliance to begin with? Their letter explained how they felt threatened by both the Sound's and the Lightning's advances into their territory, unannounced. Both carelessly pillaged their nation on their way through to the Leaf, mainly through the strip of land known as the Fang, which separates the Lightning and the Fire. They want the antagonizing to end, and will do whatever it takes to get them to leave them alone, even declare war."

"You know as well as I do their warlike tendencies," Temari continued to argue.

"If they betray us, it wouldn't be unusual for them to do so. Besides, the Leaf wouldn't be too excited to hear about our new allies. They've been at war on and off over then past twenty or so years because of mediocre bickering that mainly the Earth can be accounted for."

"Basically, we have to weigh our options," Kankuro surmised.

"What's worth more-- A chance at finally crushing the Sound for good, or potentially having a new enemy on our hands?"

"_Enemies_, if we instigate the other four lands," Temari warned.

Gaara let his hands fall back onto his lap, pulling out a blank sheet of parchment and a pen. A soft groan escaped Temari's lips, knowing that her concerns were being cast aside, just as she feared they would be.

"Kankuro, notify the elders that we'll have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning. I will write a letter to be sent to the Stone first thing after the meeting, considering that all goes well."

"Right," Kankuro replied, slipping soundlessly out of the office.

Temari rose to her feet, shifting uneasily as her brother sat eerily still, engaging her in a staring contest. Just like she usually did, she cracked under his gaze in a matter of seconds.

"You're not just the Kazekage, but my younger brother, so I'll trust in your judgement that you have the Wind's welfare in mind, Gaara."

"Thank you."

"But I really hope you watch their movements carefully. Station shinobi around their perimeter if you must, but please, don't take your eyes off them. We can't afford for this to end badly--"

"I know," Gaara interrupted.

"I had intended to do just that."

Temari nodded in understanding, but her doubts remained firm as ever.

"And... this girl they're giving us, in return for our alliance? Just who is she to be able to barter war?"

"The daughter of a feudal lord of the Earth."

"I see... So, what will we do with her once she is here?"

Gaara shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"Keep her close by. Let her live with us."

"In _our _home?" Temari asked incredulously, as if disgusted by the idea of a potential traitor sleeping in the guest room of her own home.

"Naturally," He replied calmly.

"It's the best way to keep a close eye on her while she stays here."

"Hmm... That's true..."

"We'll take care of her. She will not be treated as a prisoner. Quite the contrary, I want you and Kankuro to make sure she is treated with the utmost respect, as an honored guest here in my village should be."

"Did... did they mention the duration in which this girl will be staying here?"

Gaara pursed his lips, and the detached look that crossed his face sent chills crawling up the length of Temari's arms.

"Her stay here is permanent. If the Earth remain loyal to their word, she will stay safe here for the remainder of her life. However, should they attempt to make a move against us, she will be the first death as a testament to their stupidity."

Her eyes drifted to her toes, and she found herself fidgeting with the hem of her fishnet. She wondered how the girl felt about being martyred in such a way; her life hanging in the balance according to her own village's allegiance to her life.

"I want to lead the retrieval squad personally," She pressed.

The Kazekage shook his head, immediately shooting down her request.

"There won't be any need. The Stone will be delivering her to our hands personally."

He leaned forward once more, folding his hands on top of his desk.

"What I want you to do is travel to the Leaf village and speak to the Hokage personally. Convince him to follow in our footsteps and ally the land of Fire with the land of Earth as well. I need him to accept them just as entirely as we must, yet I need you to express the dangers we will face with the new alliance, so that they can be prepared with us should the Earth rise against us."

Solemnly, Temari finally nodded, turning to leave.

"When will I depart for the Leaf?"

"As soon as the meeting is over."

"What if the elders don't listen to you?"

"Then I will make them listen."

Temari flinched, and whirled back around to argue with her brother, only to see him smiling softly at her. He'd only been joking. As nice a change as it was, she'd never really get used to the concept of Gaara _joking_.

"They will listen to me," He reassured her confidently.

"They always do. Always, they see the brightest side of what I tell them."

"Many of them think you are a god," Temari agreed thoughtfully.

Gaara chuckled lightly, another spectacle Temari had a hard time accepting.

"So they do."

* * *

"...Elysia."

"Yes, father?"

The old man stared down at his daughter, shuffling his feet nervously. Behind his back, he wrang his hands furiously.

"I am... You... This is... Oh, no..."

The woman quickly rose from her seat and scrambled to her father's side just in time to catch him as he began to sink into a sobbing heap on the floor. She embraced him as they slid to the ground, and he clutched at her forearms as if for his life, she much more emotionally stronger than he. He buried his dark head into the crook of his daughter's neck. She had heard that once, her father had been one of the most handsome men in all of Earth Country. Looking at him now, with his etched brow and sunken eyes, she never would have guessed that once a man to be envied lived in this skin. But as far as she knew, that's all they were. Rumors.

"My daughter, god knows I never wanted it to come to this... I don't want to lose you, and yet here you are, about to leave me..."

"What happened to those villagers in the Fang must not be repeated... So many innocents murdered, raped there..."

"That has nothing to do with you!!" He cried, burying his face deeper into his daughter's shoulder.

"Father, do not be selfish," Elysia reprimanded the old man.

She had to bite her lip to keep from shoving him from her. But such an act would not go over well amidst all the shinobi currently stationed around the room.

"The Wind would never accept a free bargain. They are too skeptical for that. Something of value must be given in exchange for peace."

"I would have given the Fang to them..."

"And that would have accomplished what, father?" She challenged as delicately, yet as firmly as she could.

"Cause an uproar in the Fang Country and therefore give the Wind more of a reason to resent us? No, it is best like this..."

The feudal lord moaned agonizingly, stirring himself to his knees, still keeping a tight hold on his daughter's arms.

"Very well... But... The moment they raise a hand against you--"

"Father, you're being ridiculous."

"Fine, but the first time they threaten you--"

Elysia chuckled bitterly, pulling away from her father, who protested by hardening his own grasp. She peered down upon him with unsympathetic blue eyes.

"This is no laughing matter!!"

"I am sorry... But you know I can take care of myself, father. I am no fool."

"Maybe not... But your master will be Gaara of the Desert... I heard the man murdered waves of experienced shinobi in his childhood, putting down one woman would be nothing for a man such as he..."

"Gaara of the Desert is not as he used to be," She reasoned.

"If he were, his nation would never have named him Kazekage. He has been their Kazekage for going on six years, now..."

"Nonetheless, I am suspicious of foul play--"

"If you were suspicious of treason, you never should have let me go to Iwagakure and make my proposal when you knew well of my intentions."

Lost for words, the lord merely bowed his head, sighed, and finally released his daughter, waving his hand dismissively.

"Very well... Go to the Wind, and be the peace weaver that we've so desperately needed for so long. Don't worry, I'll keep things in order here back at home. Play your part well, my daughter; cozy up to lord Kazekage as best as the frozen-hearted man will allow, for then you will be the most protected. Write to me often, tell me exactly how you are doing and everything you feel, understand?"

"Yes, father, I understand."

The feudal lord rose to his feet, his eyes dry, having shed all the vain tears they would allow. He extended a hand to his daughter, bringing her to her feet as she placed her hand in his.

"It's not "_father_", anymore. From now on, you are a resident of the Land of Wind, and it is Lord Tyjumae."

"Yes, Lord Tyjumae."

"Very good."

He released Elysia's hand, folding his arms across his chest, finally resembling the lord he often portrayed.

"You have your belongings packed, I presume?"

"Some of them," She admitted sheepishly.

"Well, get the rest of them around, for the moment we get word back from the Kazekage, you will leave."

"What if he declines our generous offer?"

"If he is anything like I've heard from the rumors, he won't decline. We pose too great a war asset for him to ignore, and he wants the Sound to fall more than anything else in the world, I hear."

* * *

Murmurs filled the room as Gaara laid down the proposal from the Land of Earth.

"Let me see that letter," One of them demanded.

Gaara obediently handed the paper to him, and the others began to speak as he read it silently.

"Why should this girl be any concern of ours?"

"Maybe if they had offered up _resources _or perhaps _money _instead of a woman, we might be more agreeable!"

"The girl is a testament to the nation's loyalty," Gaara pressed.

"It is a collateral loan for assurance of peace."

"It is war they seek to engage themselves in!" Another argued.

"Not peace!"

"Ultimately, it is peace, because what they have now is no less than harassment by the Land of Sound and Lightning. For them, war _is _peace," Gaara explained.

"So you just want to help them our of pity! Foolish, Lord Kazekage!"

"Not so, imbecile! Another ally would prove fruitful in our endeavors to crush the evil Sound!"

The arguing settled back into a dull roar as Sukuzi handed the letter back to Gaara.

"Well, Lord Kazekage?" He asked.

"What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"I have already made my decision," Gaara replied calmly.

"I have chosen to accept their offer."

The council began to argue loudly amongst themselves, only for Gaara to raise his hands for silence.

"That is, only if Sukuzi agrees on behalf of the elders."

The old man pursed his lips, deep in thought. His old age was apparent in his face; he reminded the young Kazekage of Ebizou, only much more relentless. After a moment of silence, he finally replied,

"Lord Kazekage has not steered us wrong thus far. I agree with his decision to pursue this alliance."

"If that is so, then this meeting is adjourned."

The council rose to their feet and began to file out of the room in a manner of anything but silence. With a confident grin, Kankuro held out his hand to his younger brother.

"I'll have that letter sent out now, Gaara."

The Kazekage handed the response to the Earth to his brother with a nod, then turned to Temari.

"You should leave for the Leaf immediately."

"Right... Gaara..."

* * *

"Well well well, shouldn't you feel special," Hana purred into Elysia's ear as the bright red hair of the Kazekage swam through the desert heat in the distance.

"The Kazekage has come out to welcome you personally into the Sand."

"Yes... I am indeed very honored..."

Hana was the last kunoichi Elysia had ever wanted to escort her _anywhere, _for the simple fact that she was the biggest lecher known to the world. Petite with hollow cheeks, she was one of the few kunoichi who bothered with her physical appearance. On a daily basis, the woman painted her face with some of the most absurd colors known to man and tried to pass it all off as cosmetics. Today, she had decided on a translucent orange blush, making her look like she'd contracted a sickly sunburn. Her eyelids above her light brown eyes were coated with a neon pink, a dark purple above that, overlapping her eyebrows. Her paper-thin lips were painted the same color as her hair, a smoky gray, making her teeth glisten in stark contrast when she smiled.

"We're lucky it's such a clear day out here today," Diemo mused aloud, scanning the horizon with obvious glee.

"I'd heard the sandstorms in this area could get real unforgiving, and I'm glad we didn't have to find that out first hand."

Diemo, much like Hana, wasn't a personal favorite of the Noble's. He was one of those creepy people who could smile at anything, anytime. Elysia had once seen him grin as he slaughtered the Rain shinobi attack the village. She'd never seen the smile wiped from his clownish face. He possessed black hair and black eyes like bottomless pits, swallowing up the noble every time she found herself unintentionally gazing into them.

Of the three shinobi, Elysia definately would have classified Aizumo as the "normal" one. Olive-skinned and fair haired, Aizumo was modestly attractive, but not remarkably special in any way at all. He had remained quiet for much of the journey, but Elysia wasn't insulted in the least. He, like her father, had been one of the few objecting to her being the peace offering to the Sand village in the name of alliance. This only meant he himself was concerned for her well being, which was flattering more than anything, but he seemed bitter that he, also like her father, hadn't been paid the least bit of acknowledgement since the offer had been put up onto the table.

As they neared even closer to the village, the Kazekage's image was no longer distorted by the heat, and a soft moan passed Hana's lips.

"I'd heard he was a drop dead gorgeous man, but the descriptions I got give him no justice... This man... is a god..."

She began to swoon, before clasping Elysia's arm desperately as they walked.

"You've gotta do me this one favor, milady, and marry this super godly hottie. Show them us women of the Earth have good taste."

Elysia laughed, until she herself cast her eyes to the Kazekage. The first thing she noticed about the Kazekage was not his actual appearance, but his _age_. Elysia hadn't been aware that the Kazekage was so _young_. He did not appear to be much older than herself. With nearly six years of being Kazekage, she had assumed that placed him in his mid-to-late thirties, perhaps forties. But this man was no older than twenty-three, at the most. And with five years under his belt already, that made him impossibly young when he became Kazekage. Suddenly, her respect for the man soared to have achieved such a feat, so young.

The Kazekage opened his arms wide in welcome as they neared him, and spoke in a gravelly, chilling voice Elysia almost feared.

"You arrived with impeccable timing," He commented, his eyes glued to Elysia, the only one not in usual shinobi attire.

"I have to say, I am pleased."

Elysia returned his intense stare, forcing herself to hold his gaze as she bowed to him.

"In that case, I am glad you are satisfied."

After a moment, Gaara pried his eyes away from the noble, and shifted to the three Stone shinobi standing before him. Trying to pretend he didn't notice the single kunoichi's gawking, he waved his hand to the village behind him.

"You are welcome to rest up here after your surely exhausting journey before you head back home."

"Oh, that would be _lovely_, Lord Kazekage," Hana practically drooled.

"Just a few hours," Diemo concurred.

Knowing that even if he objected he was wholly overruled, Aizumo followed his teammates in silence.

* * *

"...Gaara's room is in there, so I wouldn't suggest getting curious if you like breathing."

"I see..."

Kankuro scratched his head, then pointed the the door opposite of Gaara's.

If any word came to mind when she looked at the puppeteer, it would have had to be _kabuki. _To Elysia, Kankuro was impossible to tell if he could even pull off the attractive factor. His sheer height and broad features compared to her own was intimidating enough, but the awkward purple paint he applied to his face was like the icing on the rhetorical cake.

"This here will be your room. While you aren't restricted to it, I regret to inform you that your actions will in fact be monitored closely, whether you're inside or out."

"Understandable."

He dropped his hand, perplexed. Kankuro had expected that being new to the village and all, or being a potential spy sent to get a feel for the village, that she'd have a few questions. But she hadn't asked anything since Gaara had sent her and Kankuro on their "tour".

"Any, um... Any questions?"

"Where is the bathroom?"

"Oh, right. It's right there. Anything else?"

"No, I think that is all. Thank you."

Elysia twisted the door handle and stepped inside the room with her bags, Kankuro carrying the remaining luggage.

"Yeah... no problem..."

Leaning down to unpack the first of her bags, she froze in mid-clip. Slowly, her gaze shifted to the farthest corner of the room. Although well disguised, she was positive that someone was there. Heaving a sigh, she finished unclipping the bag.

"I did not know this monitoring started immediately..."

"Sorry," Came Kankuro's insincere apology.

"Understood..."

Kankuro bent down beside her, reaching for another bag and dragging it to his feet.

"Mind if I help you unpack?"

Under normal circumstances, Elysia would have insisted that it was not necessary. But she knew what he was implying. He wanted to make sure she didn't have anything suspicious in her possession.

"Help yourself."

Elysia got the feeling that Kankuro would have rummaged through her belongings regardless of her answer, as he had already dug through half the bag before she'd even answered. Straightening her back, she peered around the room. Its empty, tan, dusty walls and bare, carpet less floors were quite the change from back at the Earth. If she didn't already know that the rest of the palace was as decoratively _dead _as this room was, she would've said that this was a form of mistreatment. The only thing her new room possessed was a small mattress and an even smaller dresser shoved back into the corner of the room. Grasping hold of the dresser's handles, she pulled on the drawer. To her dismay, it didn't budge. With a low growl, Elysia propped her foot on the dresser and yanked viciously on the drawers again. However, the only result she got was a _pop _sound in her shoulder, followed by a jolt of pain that shot down her entire arm. With a cry of pain, she stumbled backwards, holding her shoulder.

"Damn it all..."

"Here, let me get that for ya," Kankuro offered dully as he slouched over to her, as if he'd really hoped he wouldn't have to do such a tedious task, although a tiny smirk of amusement graced hiw wide lips.

He proceeded to grasp both handles, before jerking down and outwards on the drawer in one swift motion. Dust flew across the room, causing Elysia to sneeze and swat at the air in disgust.

"It gets stuck pretty easily," He explained, turning back to the lady of the Earth.

"You have to pull it down and out at the same time, or else it won't budge."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you."

Elysia proceeded to test the other drawers by pulling them down and out just as Kankuro had advised.

"Please tell me what my schedule here is to be, Lord Kankuro."

Scratching his head again, his head perked up at the random question.

"Uh, well... You can pretty much do whatever you want here, in terms of recreation... Breakfast is at 700 hours sharp, no one's usually home for lunch, so that's kind of fend for yourself, but you can probably get someone to make you something... and dinner is usually served around 1800 hours."

"Recreation..." Elysia repeated carefully.

She gazed longingly out the window, where the desert seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction.

"...What exactly is there to do for fun around here?"

"Well, you'll just have to find something."

"What do _you _do during the day, Lord Kankuro?"

"I occasionally run errands for Gaara when he needs them, but mostly, I train during the day."

"Sounds... ruthless."

Kankuro gave an inaudible sound that sounded remotely like a grunt.

"I'm a shinobi of the Sand, so that's what I do. By the way..."

He stood up straight, nudging aside the third bag he'd violated with his foot, and reached for another one.

"... There's another one that lives here that you should know of. As you're already aware, I'm Gaara's brother, but we also have a sister. Her name's Temari, but she's out at the Leaf village right now. She won't be back for another two or three days, but when she does get back, I would definitely watch my step around her if I were you."

Elysia's gaze flickered momentarily to him, then back to the dresser in which she was unpacking her clothing.

"I'm sure you've already come to the conclusion that you're walking on thin ice in this village. You're an assumed spy here to stir up trouble as far as we're concerned."

"Guilty until proven innocent?"

"Yeah. But of all the people in this village who are paranoid about you, Temari is the one most skeptical, even more so than Gaara."

"So... if I want to prove the purity of my intentions... it must first be through her..."

"That'd be a great start," Kankuro agreed.

He clipped the bag back together before tossing it to Elysia's feet.

"I'll be honest with you... It's the war Gaara wants settled. He couldn't care less how. He just knows that allying himself and the Leaf with your village will take him one step closer to fulfilling that goal."

"In other words," Elysia surmised quietly, her hands sliding slowly across the top of the woodwork of the dresser.

"Lord Kazekage does not care about me personally, only of what my sacrifice means to this war effort."

"I didn't say--"

"You did not need to," She interrupted softly.

"I knew I would not be welcomed into the Sand with open arms for any other reason. I knew that I would be categorized as a criminal. I already knew all of this. I am no fool."

For several minutes, all was silent in the room. Distant murmurs and giggling on behalf of the people wandering the building, the "Help", as Kankuro liked to refer to them, or rather the hired hands, could be heard through the palace. It wasn't until a delectable scent wafted into the room that caused even the shinobi shrouded in shadows to stir in longing. Kankuro licked his lips, and Elysia could practically see the saliva slick on his lips.

"Hope you're no vegetarian."

"I lived in the Earth Country. Of course not."

"Good. We survive on a mainly meat diet here, so you'd be sucking if you were."

"Uh-huh..."

If she'd have blinked, she would've missed seeing him slip from the room. For the sake of the wandering-eyed shinobi still trying to hide from her in the corner, Elysia followed after Kankuro to reprieve the shadow-dweller of his watchman duties.

* * *

That first dinner she shared with the two men of the household had to be possibly the most awkward meal Elysia had ever eaten in her entire life. As if the dead silence at the table wasn't enough, Kankuro tried to break the quiet with his even more awkward conversation as desert was served.

"That Nimura chick was really hot," He said between pauses in bites of his meal.

"She didn't have that perfect hour-glass shape body I usually look for in a girl, but she had a really pretty face and an even nicer rack on her, so I guess it kind of evens out, eh?"

Gaara nodded solemnly, oblivious, and it struck Elysia that the Kazekage wasn't even aware of the current conversation his brother was trying to have with him. She raised her hand in front of her face and forced a cough to mask her laughter.

"Of course, she still didn't compare to that chick that came over from Tea Country. Can't remember what her name was, but she was a real knock out. A perfect twelve out of ten. What do you think, Gaara?"

Suddenly aware that he was being asked a question and couldn't pass it off with a curt nod, the Kazekage lifted his head, blinking innocently. Kankuro peered at him expectantly, awaiting his answer.

"Sorry... What?" Gaara apologized shamelessly.

Kankuro sighed, before repeating his question.

"Who was the hotter girl in your opinion? Nimura from the Temujin shores or that liaison chick from Tea country that was here last week?"

"Does it really matter?"

Kankuro sighed heavily again, almost as if he'd expected this kind of response from his younger brother.

"You always say that... It's no fun if you don't play along, you know."

"Since when were we playing a game?" Gaara asked naively.

Elysia immediately realized that the Kazekage was being completely serious. He really didn't get his elder brother's attempts at crude conversation.

_"That is a first... For a_ man_..."_ She mused humorously.

"Alright, well, anyways, Dagarashi and I and some others are going out to celebrate Todara's wedding next week, so just as a heads up, but Temari should be back by then to keep an eye on the bundle of joy..."

It was amazing to Elysia how instantaneously all eyes in the room shot to her at the mere insinuation of her. The Help all stopped their gossiping, and turned to her to gawk. Kankuro stared her down as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of her yet, which, Elysia reminded herself, he wasn't. Even Gaara had gazed back up to glower at her with those light colored, dark-rimmed eyes of his.

"Please excuse me," She managed to choke out, intimidated by his ice cold stare that sent chills down her spine even in the midst of her desert wasteland.

Rising to her feet, one of the maids squealed as she, too, was given a glare by the Kazekage that almost made her want to pee her pants. Taking the hint, she swiftly followed Elysia down the hallway to her room. Moving to shut the door behind her, the maid quickly slipped her hand between the door and its frame. Elysia glared at her through the crack, but the maid's pleading brown eyes made it clear that she was much more afraid of Gaara's glare than Elysia's. Heaving an irritated sigh, she opened the door wide enough to allow the maid to slip through.

"Thanks... Lord Gaara isn't pretty when he's mad..."

"Why would he get mad?" Elysia inquired.

The maid nervously began to braid her sandy blond hair.

"Lord Kazekage... he said that there would be consequences if we allowed you to roam this village alone..."

"Even if it is only to my room?" The lady demanded bitterly.

She turned to her dresser, and frowned. Used to having her mirror hanging above her dresser, the walls felt empty without it there... not that they _weren't _empty. The maid nodded fervently.

"You are not to be alone, no matter if it's just walking down the hall to the restroom... Those are Lord Kazekage's orders, ma'am..."

"I see..."

_"It is almost as if I am indeed a prisoner here in this village..."_

"Come with me, then. I have a question for the Kazekage."

"R-right..."

Elysia studied the aide as she exited her room and descended back to the dinning room. The maid shook as she walked, still braiding her hair.

_"She is absolutely terrified... But of what?"_

"Tell me... why are you so scared?"

"S-scared? The maid chattered swiftly.

"I'm not scared."

Elysia halted in her tracks, and turned to face the woman. Her trembling hands went to her breast, gazing up at the princess with milk chocolate eyes. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she admitted,

"I know Lord Kazekage would never lay a hand on any of us for disobedience... But... his potential wrath is still a terrifying concept..."

Her eyes shifted nervously from side to side, as if she expected Gaara to suddenly melt from the walls and glare at her again. Elysia suppressed a grin, and kept walking.

_"So... She has no real reason for fear... She is merely a coward..."_

"Tell me, what is your name?"

The maid's eyes went wide with shock, as if such a drastic question was alien to her.

"Umm... Setsuko?" She replied, as if afraid her answer might be wrong.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Setsuko. My name is Elysia."

"I already know your name, mi'lady..." Setsuko murmured.

"Everyone does."

"I see..."

To her dismay, the dinning room was completely deserted, except for a few stray men of the Help wiping down the table.

"Excuse me, " Elysia addressed them.

"Where would Lord Kazekage be at this time of the day?"

Both men rose an eyebrow at her as if she'd suddenly spurted a second head out of her neck, then gazed at one another silently. Setsuko boldly cleared her throat, and Elysia turned to her.

"Lord Kazekage goes back to work after his dinner," She clarified.

"Oh... Well, then, take me there please."

"W-what?!" The maid sputtered, her voice back to being no more than a nervous, high-pitched squeal.

"B-b-but, Lord G-Gaara doesn't like being b-bothered this late at... night..."

"You heard her, Setsuko," One of the men chided, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"She wants to see Lord Kazekage. You have an obligation to take her there to see him."

The two men chuckled amongst themselves, before tucking their rags into their belts and flipping off the lights. Setsuko jumped in the dark, clenching her hands together at her breast again.

"F-fine," She decided.

"I'll take you to see... Lord K-Kazekage..."

"Thank you."

"What do you want to see him for, anyways?" Setsuko finally asked.

After a moment or two in the night, she seemed to have gradually overcome her fear of the dark as the two walked the streets. It was an extremely dry and humid night, but Elysia wondered if there were any other kind of nights in the desert.

"I have questions for him."

"Oh..."

Setsuko held the door open for her, but made no move to go inside. Elysia hesitated when her cowardly escort refused to enter, but she nodded in encouragement.

"Lord Kazekage's office is on the second story, on the right side of the hall. It'll be the only room with the light on at this time of night."

"Right... Thank you. But aren't you going with--?

"I'll wait right here for you," Setsuko promised, waving her hand fervently, as if anxious to get rid of Elysia.

The princess slipped inside apprehensively, and the door slammed shut behind her, instantly cloaking everything in sight under a pitch black shadow. Feeling her way with her hands tracing the walls, she climbed the first set of stairs she found beside the empty reception desk just as her cowardly escort had instructed. Sure enough, on the right hand side, seven doors from her, the flicker of several candles burning beckoned to her from the crack beneath the door. Despite the sign of life, her footsteps echoed eerily through the empty halls, and it was a relief when found herself turning the door handle. When she was greeted by the Kazekage's harsh stare, however, she began to wish she was back outside, alone and in the dark. His teal eyes scanned her cautiously, before asking,

"Where is Setsuko?"

Even creepier still than the enveloping dark behind her was the Kazekage's gravelly, unwelcoming voice.

"She... is waiting outside..."

The Kazekage furrowed his brow suspiciously, then tilted his head towards the window beside him and peered down. His curiosity must've been appeased, because he turned back to the princess, stoic as ever.

"What do you want?"

"Just the answers to a few questions I have for you, Lord Kazekage."

Elysia could almost see the wheels turning in Gaara's head, as if he were contemplating whether or not he would let her ask him anything. After what seemed to her like several hours, he waved his hand at the chairs lined against the walls before taking his own seat behind his desk.

"Ask me your questions."

"Yes... First of all, I was wondering if it would be at all possible for me to write my father back in the Land of Earth."

Gaara tilted his head and gazed at her curiously, as if wondering why she'd wanted to write her father. Reading his eyes, she quickly defended her request.

"He _is _my father, after all. I will miss him dearly, and I love him. Please let me write to him as often as possible."

The Kazekage folded his arms across his chest.

"All letters that you write will be passed through me before they are sent anywhere."

He spoke the word "_you_" as one would speak the word _malaria _or _rabies_. She ignored him, and swiftly agreed.

"I understand. That is fine."

"And your other questions?"

"Not nearly as important as writing my father, but..."

Her eyes scanned the room quickly, rushing to find a way to properly word her question so that she wouldn't sound like a fool, but also so that she could get out of this scary man's presence as swiftly as possible.

"What... can one do for recreation here in the Sand village? I mean... how would you prefer I spend my time during the day?

"You can do whatever you want, given it stays within the limits of my legal boundaries."

Elysia's eyelids drooped, and she exhaled curtly.

_"Just as vague as his brother..."_

"Please... an example? I don't know what this village has to offer..."

Gaara scratched his neck, and his intense glare receded to a modest glower.

"...I will send Temari to entertain you once she returns from her journey, as a fellow female."

"Temari..."

_" 'But of all the people in this village who are paranoid about you, Temari is the one most skeptical, even more so than Gaara.' "_

Elysia felt her blood run cold, as she finally found herself locking eyes with the unrelenting Kazekage. Seeing how cold Gaara was towards her, and how even the fun-loving Kankuro kept his distance from her, Elysia simply couldn't _wait _to meet this lovely Temari character.

"And, I was wondering... I hate to ask you for anything like this, but..."

"No need for modesty," The Kazekage assured her unconvincingly.

"Umm... right... I was kind of wondering if, well... if there was any way I could... you know... uhmm... dress up my room a bit...?"

"Dress up your room?" Gaara repeated slowly in confusion.

Elysia was stricken with awe at the wide-eyed, slack jawed man before her. Despite his soft masculine features, he appeared utterly taken aback by the dialogue she'd just used against him. It made her lower her guard considerably, and suddenly, she didn't feel quite so tense.

"Yes. You know, pictures, decor, that sort of thing! Us girls thrive off of that, you know, Lord Kazekage. Will I have to wait for Temari's return to pursue my endeavors in that as well?"

Gaara's composure returned in an instant, and as if in sync, Elysia felt her body run stone-cold rigid again in response.

"Of... of course, you hold the right to refuse me... seeing how it is your home, after all..."

"Upon Temari's return, discuss that with her. She will be your primary care-giver, as a mutual woman."

"Yes... Lord Kazekage..."

"Is that all?"

"Yes..."

Gaara nodded, lifting his pen off the desk. He began scribbling on a fresh piece of parchment, and Elysia took her leave of him.

"Good night... Lord Kazekage...?" She muttered, her voice soaring nervously at the end of her sentence, making her sound like she'd asked a question.

As she closed the door behind her, she slammed her palm into her forehead.

_"Well, that certainly could have gone better..."_

She'd met with nobles before, and even other Kage, so why did her extremities seem to turn numb around this one man? Suddenly, Setsuko's cowardice around Gaara seemed so much more justified. The man was an intimidating creature.

"How did it go with my liege?"

"Umm... Great!" Elysia lied, plastering a smile onto her lips.

Setsuko seemed to have bought into her lie, because she returned the gesture with a small grin of her own.

"I'm glad. I don't know about you, but although Lord Kazekage isn't mean at all, he's still pretty scary..."

Elysia shook her head, laughing softly.

"He is not scary... He is just doing his job. The Kages who are firm in their disposition and yet gentle and lenient in listening to their subject's pleas... Those are the ones who make the best leaders for their people."

Setsuko's gaze turned towards the moon, staring at it as she pondered Elysia's words.

"Yes... I suppose you're right... Lord Gaara really isn't that mean... it's just that..."

"It is just that... what?"

The maid's eyes glazed over in reminiscence.

"In his childhood, Lord Kazekage had a bad reputation for being... evil. Bloodthirsty. My mother often used to tell me this, and I saw it with my own eyes a few times, but... my liege has changed. He wouldn't hurt anyone anymore, unless they posed a threat to him or the people of this village. And yet... I'm still haunted by some of the things I saw him do to other people..."

Setsuko shook her head fervently, shaking her thoughts out with them.

"Lord Kazekage is a good man!" She cried aloud, although the only one around she had to convince was herself.

"I agree," Elysia agreed, ignoring Setsuko's more than modest spaz attack.

"The first thing I must do when I return to the palace... I have to write my father a letter. No doubt he is already missing me, and I must tell him all about this Sand village."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to those who supported the first chapter. I won't point you out; you know who you are. Please remember to review (cliche as it is), as those of you who are also authors already know, but it's my life-blood for writing, that is, not so much for recgonition, but more like... **Support**, per se. If you see any grammatical or spelling errors, please don't hesitate to point them out to me.

* * *

_"Dear Father..."_

_"No,"_ Elysia reminded herself.

_"I must keep our relationship strictly professional from here on out..."_

She erased the word _father_ from the heading of her letter.

_"Dear Lord Tyjumae,_

_I pray that this letter finds you in good health. I myself am faring decently here in the Hidden Sand. I am sorry I did not write earlier; I meant to write the first night I spent here in the Sand, but got preoccupied settling in to my new home here. Firstly, I am afraid to say that my concerns as to being treated with hostility can safely be confirmed. I am not trusted by a soul in this village, though of course with obvious reasons. In order to gain their trust, I first must give mine to them, if I wish to gain a peaceful, livable lifestyle here among the Sand from now on. As to their fears, I understand that they believe I might be a spy sent in from the Land of Earth to infiltrate their village for the sake of a secret alliance they suspect that the Earth has with the Sound. A dangerous suspicion, and I fear hostility towards me will only get worse if I leave it alone. But do not worry-- I have this under control. Now, as you wished me to tell you my feelings, I will elaborate on the characters in which I live with._

_Before I go any further, allow me to say that although I am currently in no position to judge Lord Kazekage in such a manner, as I do not formally know him, but you know of my exceptional judgment of one's character, and I think that he is a good man, and an even better leader for his people. The Kages who are firm in their disposition and yet gentle and lenient in listening to their subject's pleas-- Those are the ones who make the best leaders for their people. Lord Kazekage does not trust me as far as he can throw me (with his bare hands and not his sand, mind you), but all with good intention. He is looking out for the best interests of his people, which is what the best Kages are supposed to do. He stares me down coldly with his cruel, calculating eyes, trying to read my true intentions, and I feel more intimidated than I ever have before in my life in his presence. _

_Of course, there is Lord Kazekage's elder brother, Lord Kankuro. I have gathered that he is fun-loving, laughable, lovable, and flirty, even, towards many, many of the women he meets... but never towards me. Like his younger brother, he, too, is cautious of me and has yet to decide for himself what my true colors are. When he is not out in the desert training, he spends his time in the basement of the palace in which we live, working on things he does not trust me enough to reveal. Always I hear him lock the door behind him as he descends the steps, wary that I might otherwise follow him._

_Then, there is Lady Temari. I have only known her a day now, as she has only just returned from a mission elsewhere, but what I have seen is enough. She trusts me the least of all. Although her company is slightly more desirable than that of Lord Kazekage's blatant constant scrutiny, it is a close race. I asked her if she knew of any recreational sites here in the Sand, and after a moment's hesitation, she cautiously rattled off several, one of which sparked my immediate interest: an art gallery. There, I could not only view others' works of art, but practice and create my own. However, upon asking Lady Temari if she would accompany me, a look of sheer disgust crossed her face. She made an excuse up, and sent me to the gallery with three maids as escorts, where Lord Kankuro and Lord Kazekage would have only sent one._

_Despite everything, I am doing well. However, there is a void that dwells within me-- the void that is loneliness. Though I have nothing to hide, everyone here despises me but must tolerate me for the sake of this new alliance. All that is in my power to do is give them my trust, and my own friendship, and hope that sometime soon, they will accept it, realize it is true, and give me their friendship and their trust. Only then can I start to live here in peace._

_Sincerely, _

_Elysia_

She placed her pencil down on her desk, lifting the paper to eye-level, her eyes flitting back and forth as she read it over again, and again. Sure that there were no hidden "loopholes" that the Kazekage might see and hold against her when the letter passed through him, she folded the paper carefully, reaching it to Kankuro, who stood several feet behind her. He wordlessly took the letter, tucking it in his shirt as he waved to the maid beyond him to step forward.

"I'll get this to Gaara now," He assured the lady, before exiting out of the room.

"Thank you," Elysia spoke to the closing door.

"Milady Elysia..." The maid, familiarized to the noble as Erihen, addressed her.

"I've sent word to the caretaker of the art gallery of your arrival. They are ready for you whenever you wish to leave."

To Elysia, Erihen was a breath of fresh air. Among a crowd of people who all rejected or suspected her, the maid was one who made no premature judgements. Her soft caramel eyes seemed always to be filled with the same compassion she often showed those around her, while her skin was a dark olive complexion, like most inhabitants in the Sand village. Elysia reached for the ribbon on her dresser, throwing back her hair into a loose, unruly bun. Erihen reached for the brush laying on a stack of bags.

"Oh no, mi'lady... You can't go out in public looking like this..."

"Who would care?" Elysia murmured bitterly.

"I am nothing to them either way..."

Erihen ignored her griping, pulling the ribbon from the noble lady's hair as she began to run the brush through locks the shade of the sun.

"Such soft hair... And the color... Beautiful shade of dark auburn... like burnt orange... I've never seen hair like this before... Do many people have this color hair in your village back in the Land of Earth, milady?"

"No, just my mother and I as far as I am aware of."

"Oh... I bet your mother is very beautiful, isn't she? The apple of your father's eye?"

"While she was alive, yes."

Erihen's brushing faltered, and she let the ribbon fall from her loose grasp.

"Umm, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"Do not worry about it, Erihen. You could not have possibly known that she was dead."

"What happened to your mother...?"

"Killed by enemy shinobi of the Leaf village during times of war, while I was a child."

"So tragic, mi'lady... And for the Earth and Sand to be allied with the Leaf now... That must be extremely painful to you..."

"I hold no grudges. All is fair in war, as I say."

"I thought the phrase was, ' All is fair in _love and _war'?"

"Not for me, it is not."

Erihen laughed softly, pulling Elysia's hair up in an elegantly portrayed ponytail.

"There we go, milady. Subtle, yet still beautiful."

"Thank you, Erihen."

"It was my pleasure, Lady Elysia."

"Where is Setsuko?"

"She has kitchen duty tonight. She is not allowed to leave the kitchen-dinning room area until after dinner tonight."

"Oh..."

Elysia dropped her gaze, deep in thought. Setsuko, though cowardly and with a tendency to whine incessantly, she was still one of the few people in the village who was on speaking terms with the princess.

"Then, will _you _accompany me to the art gallery today, Erihen?"

The maid smiled delicately, and Elysia returned the gesture happily.

"Of course, milady. Come, let us be off, and then I will see about Lady Temari joining us for lunch at noon today..."

* * *

"...You might want to see this, Gaara."

The young Kazekage's head perked up with interest as his elder brother handed him a precariously folded piece of paper. He laid his pen on his desk, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.

"What is it?"

"The girl's letter to her father back in the Stone village."

Gaara extended his arm to receive the letter, proceeding to unfold it as soon as his hands touched it.

"Didn't you read it yourself?"

"Yeah, but that's the problem."

Gaara began to read the letter with wide-eyed curiosity, unable to believe that the noble of the Earth had been stupid enough to write something foul against the Sand village. Kankuro stood with crossed arms, watching his brother as he read.

"It's not that it's blasphemous or anything, it's just... She sounds depressed in her letter. Is that safe to send back to her father?"

"Ask her to rewrite it, then," Gaara growled, irritated.

"And tell her write with a little more happiness in her manuscript."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, groaning in exasperation.

"Damn it, Gaara, don't try to pull that sarcasm bullshit with me."

"There's nothing wrong with the letter," The Kazekage scoffed, handing it back to Kankuro.

"Have it mailed to her father the way it is."

Kankuro held the paper a moment, turning it around in his hands as he refolded it along the premade creases.

"But... won't her father be upset to see her so down...?"

"She's just been sacrificed to a foreign land with no idea of how things will turn out for her, stripped of her entire life. It's not a sin for her to be lonely. It's to be expected, and if she wasn't sad about this ordeal, I'd have to say that I'd suspect her of treachery even more. Her sadness over this matter only shows that she is human."

"She wrote an awful lot about us, though..."

Kankuro gazed back down at the paper, then up at his brother, who was still staring lazily at him, awaiting his argument expectantly.

"...She thinks I'm fun and good-humored, but am too cautious of her to joke around with her like I do with everyone else."

"She's right."

"No--! Well, yeah, but..."

"She understands why we are wary of her. However, she's formed her own analysis of our individual personalities, and is sad because she realizes that she isn't treated the same way everyone else is treated."

"Seems like you already have this all figured out for yourself, Gaara."

"Of course I do. It's my job to protect my people."

Kankuro smirked confidently, his smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as pride began to swell in his chest.

"There really isn't any other person in the world... better suited to be Kazekage of the Sand than my little bro."

* * *

"Just take the canvas with you, mi'lady."

"Yes... But my model..."

Elysia frowned at the beautiful view from the art gallery's roof balcony. Erihen shook her head lightly, smiling.

"It's alright. You've only just started this portrait. Scrap it, and I will show you a location with an even lovelier view."

Sighing, the noble rose to her feet, wielding a brush in one hand and an palette of paint in the other.

"Now, let's go find Lady Temari and ask her to join us for lunch--"

"No," Elysia interrupted swiftly.

Her grasp on her brush tightened as Erihen cast her a perplexed gaze.

"Let us... not bother Lady Temari with our tedious endeavors."

The maiden's eyebrows momentarily furrowed together in confusion, before her face fell back into its calm demeanor.

"As you wish, milady."

"Thank you. But, are you hungry...?"

Erihen bowed her head, poking her stomach gingerly, almost shamefully.

"Actually..." She began to admit.

"I understand. We will return to the palace, and allow you to eat."

"Thank you."

"Of course..."

"Do you have anything else in mind for today, my lady?"

"Just a visit to the library, then I was going to ask you to show me this beautiful view you spoke of."

"Oh, of course..."

The two women walked in silence to the palace, Elysia gazing around her in awe of the village. As she passed through the front doorway, she bowed her head and tried to ignore the blatant stares and hushed voices, that none seemed bothered to hide, which had come to accompany her very presence in a room in this village. Only watching her path by her feet, she inevitably bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

Her gaze traveled up, and her breath was nearly caught in her throat at the cold stare she received.

"...Lady Temari..."

With a low grunt, Temari disregarded her, brushing past her and into the desert. Elysia's eyes cast back to her feet as Erihen retreated to the kitchen.

_" 'Temari will be your primary care-giver, as a mutual woman'."_

"Are you hungry, milady?"

"No thank you, Erihen..."

Her eyes traveled up the stairwell, and a dull pain cloaked itself over her heart. The library no longer appealing, she felt a sudden desire to be alone.

"...I will be in my room, Erihen..."

"But, my lady... what about our visit to the library?"

"Later, after I have rested, please. I do not feel well at the moment."

"Well, alright, my lady..."

* * *

Elysia didn't require Erihen to direct her to her own idea of a beautiful view. As she slipped out of her window, a quick scaling up the side of the palace produced similar results. Sunset was fast approaching and would arrive in less than an hour, yet would pass her by even quicker. She spread her paints in an array across her palette and set her easel and canvas as suited to her taste for the painting of the scene before her. As her last step before sketching the sky, just as her instructor back in the Stone had advised her, she mixed the oranges, reds and yellows to make the ideal shade of the Sand sky.

"Perfect..."

She twisted the bristles of the brush against the palette, wiping off the excess paint. No sooner than she'd brought the art utensil to her canvas, the raspy voice that so often unnerved her spoke unexpectedly, making her nearly jump out of her skin and taint her canvas with a streak the color of the sky.

"I don't see you accompanied by anyone up here."

Cringing, she lowered her brush, chewing her lip nervously.

"It is... just up here. Unless I were to foolishly jump, I am not going--"

"I made it perfectly clear that you weren't to go anywhere without escort."

Elysia really didn't want to get into an argument with this man who frightened her, but she inhaled sharply, and refused to look at him, helping to boost her confidence slightly.

"I do not need to be babysat, Lord Kazekage."

"You know exactly why I require you have someone with you at all times," Gaara snapped coldly, making a shiver shudder down Elysia's spine.

"You have yet to earn my trust before I can simply let you wander wherever you please."

Her knees turned to mush, but she pushed on... On towards the freedom she knew she wouldn't reach with him.

"You have yet to give me a chance to give you _my _trust."

"I never asked for your trust."

"To expect one's trust to be earned, it must first be given, Lord Kaze--"

Elysia dropped her palette as Gaara's hand clasped onto her shoulder. He wheeled her around, twisting her around to face him. The moment their eyes inevitably locked, her legs buckled, and she found herself clinging to the Kazekage's arm for support. Giving in immediately to his intense, angry eyes, she nodded fervently.

"Y-you are right. I'll go back... to my... room."

The Kazekage released her physically, but held onto her with his eyes. With great effort, she finally pried her eyes away from his, and feeling returned to her legs. In a frenzy, she quickly gathered her paints, palette and easel in her arms before turning back to the stairwell. She was afraid to give away her "_secret_" "wall-climbing" method to the Kazekage, otherwise he'd likely station maids, or even worse, _shinobi_, along the balconies she'd taken leading to the roof. He was already likely to station someone on the roof from now on. To her horror, Gaara followed her all the way back to her room, standing in the doorway as she laid her belongings alongside her dresser. If her heart had not been beating maniacally in her throat, she might've summoned the courage to ask him to leave. Instead, she sat on the floor, her back facing the doorway, and pretended to gaze at something interesting out in the desert beyond her window.

"Oh, Gaara... you're back already," A vaugely familiar female voice sighed.

"You're home early today."

The Kazekage grunted in response, and Elysia got the chilling feeling that it was just _her _that seemed to put him in a bad mood.

"I was just going to tell Elysia that dinner was ready, but since you're here, too, you might as well head down to the dinning room as well, Gaara."

Elysia instantly perked up at the sound of her name. Until just then, no one in the sound village had referred to her actual name, unless it was Setsuko or Erihen, who typically used "milady" in substitution anyways. Out of curiosity, she turned to see the woman speaking of her.

"Lady... Temari..."

Gaara had disappeared, and only the elder blond stood in the doorway now. She waved for Elysia to follow her in silence, and the noble scrambled off of the floor to join her. Following her closely, she feared she would otherwise get lost in this castle of a house.

"It's nice..." Temari mused aloud, kneeling down at the table, a grin beginning to cross her face.

Her eyes locked with Elysia's, yet her smile never wavered. The noble lady's heart skipped a beat with joy, having been smiled at by someone other than the two maids she'd acquainted herself with for the first time since she'd arrived in the Sand, regardless of how unintentional it might have been. Before she could stop herself, Elysia found a smile of her own creeping across her lips in return.

"What is?" Kankuro demanded.

"Finally being able to sit down for dinner... being able to unwind after a hard day's work."

"Oh... yeah, sure, whatever..."

His eyes began to scan the entrance of the kitchen, silently urging the maids to deliver his meal to him. Temari scoffed, insulted.

"I'm sure Gaara agrees with me."

Gaara nodded blankly, just as he often did with his brother at dinner, his arms folded across his chest as he enveloped himself in his thoughts. His elder sister, however, was not fooled. She frowned at him in disappointment. Two maids emerged from kitchen doorway, and Kankuro practically bounced giddily in his seat with glee. He nearly took the poor girl's arm off as she attempted to place his plate in front of him, almost a quarter of his meal already devoured before the plate had even hit the table. Temari groaned in disgust, rolling her eyes.

"Anyways... how was your day today, Gaara?"

Elysia had expected the Kazekage to blink rapidly as if in a daze, staring blankly at his sister at the shock of being spoken to and ask her to repeat her question. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks, nodding once curtly.

"A liason from the Leaf Village will be coming here in a few days' time."

Temari seemed surprised by this information, her eyebrows raising as her thoughts jumbled together in an unorganized fashion.

"But, I thought that _I _was to be the one to go to the Leaf? Wasn't that the whole point of me going to get things settled for the Chuunin Exams?"

"You are," Gaara reassured her, poking through his noodles with contemplative disinterest.

His mind was obviously elsewhere, depriving him of his appetite.

"The liaison is not coming here because of the Chuunin Exams, but to negotiate trade agreements and foreign affair relationships. The Hokage has sent his word with this liaison, and I am to decide if I agree with him or not."

The hair on Elysia's neck stood on end at the words _foreign affair relationships_. She couldn't help but worry that the Kazekage had insinuated the Land of Earth. Summoning her courage, she brought the matter to his attention.

"Is the Hidden Leaf Village... not allied with the Hidden Stone as well?"

Kankuro arched an eyebrow as he gazed at her, astonished with her bravery. Temari and Gaara, however, reacted as if they hadn't heard her and continued eating. Elysia stubbornly pushed her food away, boycotting the food until she received an answer, staring the Kazekage down with all the intimidation and sway she could muster. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Gaara's head rose and he glanced blankly at her. Elysia recoiled at the eye contact, and averted her gaze, much to her humiliation.

"Don't worry, we would not have allied ourselves with you in the first place had the Leaf known nothing of this proposal."

"So, they _are _allied with--?"

"They are considering the offer at our request. The Leaf's final answer will arrive with their liaison."

Elysia slowly dragged her plate back towards her, deciding to try her luck with the Kazekage once more that night while he was still in as generous of a mood as she'd ever seen him.

"When that answer indeed does arrive... Will you please tell me what it is?"

The Kazekage stared at her a moment longer, contemplating an answer to her question.

"Very well. When I know, so will you."

"Thank you, Lord Kazekage... And, umm..."

Her gaze shifted to the other female at the table. Temari felt the heated gaze boring into her, and she cringed as she felt the noble's stares shift to her.

"...Lady Temari?"

"Yeah?" She answered a little to quickly, which she swore to herself under her breath for her hastiness.

_"Don't anticipate yourself," _Her father had often advised her.

Elysia paused, before continuing with her request.

"Would you accompany me to the library after dinner?"

Temari gazed out at the window, her eyes scanning the sky.

"The library should be closing her in an hour or so. Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

Elysia, not wanting to press the girl, nodded with pursed lips in disappointment she made no attempt to hide. Finally raising her head to gaze at the noble, Temari watched as Elysia nibbled at the meat clasped firmly between chopsticks. Her skepticism gave way to guilt as she gazed into pools of blue. The word _martyr _came to mind, and Temari's hostility sank to the back of her mind.

"However, I have some books of my own. You could read one of them, or at least until you can go to the library."

The noble beamed at Temari, and, much to her surprise, the blonde's heart was instantly filled with a sense of joy at making this girl happy. She dabbed politely at her lips with a napkin, before tossing the cloth onto her empty plate.

_"Don't worry about it,"_Temari tried to convince herself.

_"Even if she is a traitor, it's nothing the Sand village cannot handle... Being nice... it isn't going to kill me..."_

"My room is upstairs, it's the far left door. Come by whenever you're done eating, and I'll show you what kind of books I have."

"Thank you, Temari..."

The blond nodded swiftly, before rising to her feet and retreating to her room. Kankuro clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, tilting his head and allowing a sly grin to find him.

"Looks like you took my advice to heart when I recommended that you cozy up to Temari. Didn't waste any time, did you?"

Elysia shook her head, smiling softly at him as she twirled the noodles around her chopsticks.

"Actually... that was the first time I've addressed Lady Temari with a direct request."

Kankuro frowned, the idea that he had thought wrong not sitting well with him.

"You sure you haven't spoken to her before now?"

"I'm sure, Lord Kankuro."

"Huh."

He pried his eyes away from her and lifted his glass to his lips, taking a sip of the mild alcohol. Usually, he never drank alcohol with his dinner, as it left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth when drank with his food, but tonight he was going out with a few of his friends, so he decided he'd start his night off with an alcohol not too strong, but not too weak, either, as his friends would most likely have him work his way up the ladder of dominant beverages. He liked to think of it as, "getting his feet wet" for the night to come. Kankuro excused himself from the table, his food eaten and his drink downed. Elysia gazed longingly at her food, still half a plate sitting before her that refused to simply evaporate into the atmosphere as she wished it would. She wanted to follow Temari up to her room and drink in the foreign worlds that lie within the pages of her books. However, she knew that her father would have been livid had he been here, had he known that she wanted to waste so much food.

_**"There are starving children in this world who would gladly feast on what you so impudently wish to throw away!!"**_

_"Yes, father, I know..."_

"If you are full, you don't have to eat that."

Elysia's heart lodged itself in her throat when the familiar raspy voice intruded her thoughts, alarming her.

"Oh, well, you see..."

She refused to look up at him, for fear that his intense eyes would be gazing back at her. Instead, she busied herself with the hem of the untarnished napkin laid on the table beside her glass.

"I think it is disrespectful to waste such perfectly good food..."

"One of the maids would surely eat it."

Elysia's nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of someone eating after her. The germs, the saliva, the _sickness _involved...

"Seriously?" She asked, involuntarily placing more revolt in those four syllables than she'd intended.

Momentarily, she forgot her unspoken restraint she'd held against the Kazekage up until now, and lifted her head to stare at awe in his bold statement. Just as she'd feared, his pools of teal were locked onto her. With a sharp intake of breath, she quickly averted her eyes from his. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, feeling like a child again.

_"Why is it I fear him so...?"_

"Surely one of them would," He assured her, tipping his own plate ever so slightly as to show her that he, too, still had food on his plate.

"They attack my leftovers like malnourished wolves."

Elysia, despite her "fear" of the Kazekage, allowed herself to laugh at his words. She hadn't even been here in the Sand a full week yet, and yet already she understood that Gaara was the fantasy of many females' dreams. From what she'd already witnessed, she could imagine the Kazekage blowing his nose on a tissue and casually throwing it to the wind, only for a small crowd of women to gather, clamoring to be the first to touch it. Thus far, Gaara had come home to dinner several times griping about how something had gone "missing" after he stepped out of his office for only a moment, and had to chase down some overzealous woman who'd snuck off with a pen, a pencil, a document, and even once, his blue and white Kazekage hat. Elysia had witnessed that herself as she was walking home from the art gallery with Setsuko. A thin, dainty brunette girl in her late teens had somehow managed to sneak the hat and had spirited down the street with it jammed awkwardly ontop of her tiny head. She must've been disappointed, though, as it was not Gaara who chased her down, but a tanned, masculine man with two red markings on the left side of his face, whom Setsuko nervously addressed as "Baki". The girl was apprehended and lectured by this Baki character in the middle of the street, in which she began to sob and gush about her unrequited love towards Lord Gaara. The Kazekage himself, however, either completely ignored his growing fan base, or was utterly oblivious to it.

"Yes, I'm sure they would, Lord Kazekage."

"If you don't wish to finish it, then leave it. Someone else will eat it."

Elysia wasn't so sure they'd go as rampant on her food as they would his, but she cast aside her doubts and forced him a smile anyways.

"Please excuse me then, Lord Kazekage."

He nodded wordlessly, watching her ascend the stairs. Rising to his feet, he slipped his gourd onto his back, and reached for the back of his chair but felt nothing but air, where he could've sworn he'd hung a certain accessory.

"Here, let me get these plates out of your way, Lord Kazekage," Setsuko chimed particularly bravely.

Despite himself, a low growl erupted from his throat. In horror, the maid whimpered, her courage shot, as his murky eyes turned to her to glare for an answer.

"Where the hell is my hat?!"

* * *

"I think I like this one, Lady Temari."

Elysia held up the book to display to Temari, expecting an enlightening review only to receive a light frown.

"That book is very angsty, you know. Filled with tragedy, death and the like."

The noble flipped open the front cover, skimming once again through the paragraph depicting the story held inside.

"I thought it sounded appealing..."

Temari shrugged lazily, sifting casually through a separate collection of novels organized on her shelf.

"I'm the biggest book worm of my brothers and I, but I just couldn't finish _that _book."

Elysia glanced up from the book, and Temari quickly amended herself.

"Not that I'm emotionally weak or anything!" She pressed.

"It's just... I got about halfway into the third chapter before I stopped. It was the most diabolical, _morbid _thing I've ever read in my life. I couldn't _stand _it."

Elysia turned the book around in her hands, gazing leisurely at the back cover.

"If you despise this book so much, then why do you have it?"

Temari smiled weakly, her tone dropping into one of apathy.

"It was a birthday gift... from Gaara. I don't know where he found it, but he'd read it, and I guess he loved it, because he gave me a copy, saying that he thought I should read it, too."

"What is the book about?"

Temari's smiled broadened ever so slightly, tinged with bitterness.

"A man, portrayed in the beginning of the story with obvious psychological issues, captures and tortures animals out of, "_anatomical curiosity_", was his justification. After a little while, he moved on to humans, dissecting and dismembering them while they were still _alive_. After he tortured and killed his own daughter by means of evisceration, I stopped reading. It was sickeningly detailed, way too sinister for my liking, even if it _was _just a book."

"I see..."

She lifted the novel to eye level, nodding as if some unspoken understanding had passed between her and the inanimate object.

"...I would still like to read it, if you do not mind, Lady Temari."

"No, go right on ahead. Knock yourself out," Temari snorted apprehensively.

"Thank you."

Elysia lifted the book to her breast, yet remained seated on Temari's bedroom floor, not yet ready to sacrifice the woman's company. However, in contrast to her wishes, Temari unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a yawn.

"Well, take your time reading that book, but I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Oh..."

The noble pressed the book closer to her, reluctantly rising to her feet.

"In that case, good night, Lady Temari..."

"Mhmm."

Elysia cast the blond one last fleeting glance, before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She cringed, her eyes floating up to meet a pair of teal ones that stared her down, scrutinizing her coldly.

"Good night, Lord Kazekage," She murmured, blinking several times as she made an effort to pry her eyes from his.

She turned from him to continue her trek down the hall, but hesitated as the sudden desire to speak to the red head behind her arose. Before she could change her mind, she twirled back towards him, lifting the novel in her grasp into the air.

"Lady Temari allowed me to borrow this."

Elysia mentally slapped herself for her tactless approach. She expected him to icily brush her words off and walk down the corridor, but instead, he nodded to her, his eyes scanning the cover of the book she held in her hands.

"It's an entertaining read."

She smiled at Gaara, refraining from informing him that his sister didn't like the book at all. If she hadn't already told him, she wasn't going to be the one to break the news to him.

"You will have to tell me what you thought of it after you finish."

Unexpectedly elated, Elysia nodded enthusiastically.

"I will definitely do that, Lord Kazekage."

The noble grinned to herself with self satisfaction, pleased with the results of their short conversation, attempting to leave his company again.

"Good night, Lord Kazekage," She repeated gleefully.

Gaara arched a brow as he watched her leave, wondering why she'd become so giddy all of a sudden. Not dwelling on the possibilities, he rapped his knuckles on Temari's door. He only had to wait a few seconds before his sister, clad in a knee-length lavender nightgown, peered groggily at him as she cracked her door open. She blinked at him rapidly, the light in the hallway impairing her eyesight.

"Gaara...?"

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," He began sourly.

Temari frowned, fairly sure he wasn't referring to waking her up after about four seconds into her slumber.

"What is it, Gaara?"

"I've just gotten a report that the Temujin Shores were attacked earlier this evening."

Temari's knees buckled at the sound of this information. The only route that both the Sound and the Lightning had to even get into the Land of Wind was either through the Land of Fire, or the Land of Earth, and those countries were all located in the east. With the Temujin Shores on the south-westernmost side of the Land of Wind, the Sound and Lightning would have had to taken sea routes all the way around to the other side of Wind Country, but that would have taken _weeks _to accomplish, and they'd only been allies with the Earth a matter of _days_. Up until the alliance was forged, the two waring factions waged war on the Earth front; needless to say, once the alliance was solidified between the Sand and Stone, the violent attacks were met with more hostility. There had been no reports of enemy forces breaking through to the Land of Wind.

"There's no way it was the Lightning or the Sound..." She muttered, regaining her composure.

"Their response was way too fast, so who..."

Her voice trailed off, gazing desperately into her brother's hardened eyes for an answer, when suddenly the potential meaning of a _sea _attack on an entirely different front than the entire war had been raged struck her like a ton of bricks. She moaned out in horror.

"Oh, damn it, Gaara, don't tell me..."

"The shinobi that attacked us... were from Sea Country."

"They worked fast, those conniving bastards..."

"So it would seem."

Gaara placed his hand on the door jam, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"I intend to deploy shinobi to counter the assault on the Temujin Shores _immediately_. I want Todara, Rusia, Kankuro and you to lead that counter attack, Temari."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to those who reviewed the story. It really made my day to hear your praise, your thoughts, and your criticism. I intentionally ask for your continued input because I enjoy hearing your ideas, but also it's because several sets of eyes are better than just mine alone. What I mean by that is that I am trying to scrape by using Wordpad, as I don't currently have Microsoft Word. He he he... Sorry. Accordingly, I read and reread these three chapters thus far over and over again, checking for spelling and grammatical errors, but as I was graciously informed, I didn't catch them all. I know I said I wouldn't speak out loud about reviewers, but there are a few who have just really lifted me up. I can't thank them enough for their flattering words and support so early in the series. So, to those of you who are kind enough to take two minutes to review after I've spent four, five days writing the chapter, thank you; you guys are my rhetorical light. As thanks to them, I tried my best to get this chapter up extra quickly. Also, please keep in mind that going _too _far with the fluff so early in the story would make poor ol' Gaara quite out of character. I see him as distant because of his past, yet no longer to the "emo" extreme he once was. His defenses are firmly in place, but not impenetrable. Years after being Kazekage, I see him as loosening up quite a bit, but still not... well, you get it, right? Also, to clarify any confusion there might be, this story takes places some time after Gaara becomes Kazekage. I've already stated that he's been Kazekage for almost six years, and since he was inaugurated at the ripe age of fifteen, that makes him about twenty years of age. Temari is in the twenty-three age range, while Kankuro resides comfortably between his two siblings at the age of twenty-two. I imagine Elysia to be about nineteen. Okay, I'm done rambling up here now. Getting a bit verbose, here, eh? I forgot to do this in my previous two chapters, so I'll do it now.

The standard Naruto disclaimer applies: I don't own Naruto. I acknowledge that Masashi Kishimoto has full rights to that, and I am simply a fan that has fallen hopelessly into this abyss known as the Narutards...

Moving right along....

* * *

For the first time since she'd met the man, Elysia felt a new emotion growing towards the Kazekage.

_Pity._

Gaara had dispatched four four-man squads to counter the invasion that had arose since yesterday evening, two of which were being led by his brother and sister. He hadn't even had time to see them off personally, as he had to inform the council of elders, the council of lords, the Land of Fire _and _the Land of Stone about their current situation. The Kazekage was already assembling a list of potential shinobi to send to the entire shoreline of the Land of Wind to defend against future sea attacks. It would hurt the Sand village's direct defenses considerably, letting go of so many shinobi, but what had to be done, simply _had _to to done. Besides, if the shinobi Gaara sent out to the borders did their job right, the enemy would never even _reach _the village Hidden in the Sand.

His irritability with his currently _agonizing _position in warfare, the day-to-day headache that accompanied being the Kazekage and with the stress of dealing with Elysia to top it all off was only amplified when the council brought up an uncomfortable matter for the young Kazekage.

"The war meeting is adjourned."

"Not yet, Lord Kazekage," Sukuzi beseeched quickly, raising his hand.

Gaara, who had already taken the liberty of rising out of his seat, faltered when he was addressed. His eyes carefully scanned the room, noticing that no one else had bothered to stand, either. The elders all gazed back at him expectantly, hands folded as they waited for the Kazekage to take his seat. Suppressing a sigh of exasperation, Gaara did as they silently implored.

_"I don't have time for this..."_

"We've been discussing amongst ourselves, Lord Kazekage," Another elder spoke.

"And although we hate to add another matter to your rapidly filling plate, we've decided that we've let it slide for too long already."

"Let what slide, exactly?" Gaara demanded, struggling to restrain the irritation in his tone.

Sukuzi drummed his fingers on the table steadily, pursing his lips into a thin line. His next words made Gaara's palms itch with a cold, clammy sweat.

"You're twenty years of age, Lord Kazekage. I doubt the thought has even crossed your mind that the time has come for you to begin settling down with a wife."

The Kazekage's lips twitched, clenching his teeth as his tongue held several choice words at bay. Sukuzi took advantage of his silence, continuing his speech of betrothing the distressed man.

"If you'd prefer, we could arrange a marriage for you, if the matter of marriage poses no significant interest to you... It's what we did for your father..."

_"Yes, and we all know how well _that _worked out,"_Gaara thought bitterly.

"No," He snapped, quite a bit more harsh than he'd originally intended.

"I will... find my own wife..."

The old man's smile crinkled at the corners of his eyes, pleased with Gaara's submissive reply.

"Wonderful! So do you have a woman in mind, already, my lord?"

"No," The Kazekage admitted honestly, his hesitation causing low murmurs to cirulate through the room.

"I simply..."

His voice trailed off lazily, and another elder angrily jumped to conclusions with the Kazekage's tone.

"You do not trust our judgement!!"

"Now, now, Ichizo, calm down," Sukuzi scolded, glaring at said elder.

"Marriage is quite the commitment. It's completely understandable for Lord Kazekage to want to make the decision himself, and wind up with a tolerable wife, instead of one he'd forever loathe."

His gaze shifted back to the Kazekage as Ichizo did as he was told, smoothing out the front of his robes.

"I hope you think about the matter further, Lord Kazekage. But for the time being, I'd say that we've said our part here. Agreed?"

Murmurs of agreement wove through the ranks of the elders, and Gaara nodded solemnly.

"We are adjourned, then..."

He waited patiently in his seat, wrapped up in his thoughts as the council quietly filed out of the room, not arguing amongst themselves for once. The moment their footsteps died into the outside world, Gaara slowly rose to his feet, almost as if in a daze. He was aware that there were several females in his village that would have thrown themselves at his feet if they knew he was now searching for a wife... but a woman who would so quickly surrender themselves to him in _desperation_? Was that the kind of wife he'd want to keep?

No, he already knew the answer to that. Kankuro had once told his younger brother that he thought Gaara wanted a strong woman, yet he didn't have the patience to "chase" a girl... whatever _that _meant. Nonetheless, once Kankuro returned, Gaara would have to finally accompany his older brother on one of the "binge drinking raids", as Kankuro called it, and further educate himself on the aspect of sexual attraction.

* * *

The thought of paying the Kazekage a neutral visit in an attempt to relieve the weight she knew he had to be carrying on his shoulders flickered across her thoughts, before promptly dismissing the absurd idea. She could already envision his pale lips, twisting into a disapproving sneer as he glared her down with his intense teal eyes. His raspy voice resounded in her ears.

_"Get out."_

Elysia decided to not try his patience with him at the moment, as she always seemed to find a way to wear it dangerously thin. She crawled onto the windowsill to catch what little breeze the desert would allow. Reaching for the borrowed book, she cracked open the novel to where she'd last left off reading, and her mind floated into another world.

_"It is time to see... What Michi will do now that he has realized that he has fallen in love with Airi... I wonder if Isamu will be jealous...?" _

* * *

Without the company of his two elder siblings, Gaara was not as intent to make it to dinner on time. Therefore, Elysia had eaten alone. Ever since their departure, he and the former Stone princess had not shared a single meal together. This knowledge firmly in mind, Elysia nearly took a spill down the stairs in shock when she saw the Kazekage sitting in his usual seat with his back to her. She found herself whispering his name, a small grin beginning to spread across her lips. The noble would share his company tonight. His presence there came as a relief to her; she'd thought he was avoiding her purposefully.

"Good evening, Lord Kazekage," She addressed him, making it a point to inform him of her existence.

The princess had expected him to remain stoic as ever, perhaps nod in her general direction at the most. As usual, he never failed to surprise her. He lifted his head, ran a hand through his unruly crop of red hair, and _smiled_.

"Evening."

The instant the words reached her ears, his smile registering in her mind, Elysia's heart shuddered with shock against her ribcage. She studied him cautiously as she took her own seat. Gaara, who usually would've maintained eye contact with her once he had her attention, initiating a silent staring contest, instead looked away from her, reaching for a bottle in front of him.

_"He is not acting normal...Yet..."_

The noble had to remind herself that, perhaps before she had come around, this _was _normal for the Kazekage. After all, it had been _her _arrival in the Sand village that had made everyone _else _she came into contact with tense up. Whatever the reason, Elysia could have cared less. The Kazekage had openly _acknowledged _her of his own accord. She was making quick progress, so she thought. Now only one question remained in her mind...

_"Should I press my luck with him?"_

For the war being at its highest point since it had begun several years ago, and the absence of his siblings, who were both out fighting in said war, she found the Kazekage's mood a bit _lax_. She was tempted to swipe that bottle from his loose grasp and take a whiff of it just to make sure he wasn't hitting the happy juice.

_"Would Lady Temari get angry if she found out Lord Kazekage was drinking?"_

Instead, she restrained herself, running possible topics through her head to fire up idle conversation with Gaara. However, her mind again strayed from the task at hand, and her thoughts wandered to...

_"I wonder what is going through that mind of his...?"_

Although the female of his species weren't exactly the highlight of his life, especially after the demoralizing _marriage _curve ball that the council of elders had thrown at him, Gaara had to admit that he'd found himself paying more and more attention than usual to the physical traits of the opposite sex. He daresay he caught himself seeking their attention a bit more often, and opening more than his fair share of doors for the thin, dainty females that appealed to him. More than once, he'd reprimand himself for involuntarily repeating the same question to himself with every other girl he saw; _"Would _she _make a good wife?!"_His eyes inevitably traveled up to the only other female in his household, blinking at her with curiosity he made no attempt to mask and drank in the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. With a sharp pang, a realization struck him.

_"Elysia..."_

She had been sent to this village to strengthen the bonds between the Earth and Wind. If she could take on the task of bringing two _nations _together, uniting one Kazekage and his council of relentless elders should be a cakewalk for her... right?

Gaara bit his bottom lip furiously, contemplating his current position. He didn't dwell in his thoughts long, however, as Erihen danced out of the kitchen, balancing the nobles' respective plates in her arms.

"Erihen... You had kitchen duty today?" Elysia found herself musing aloud.

"Yes, mi'lady."

The maid placed their plates on the table, before retreating wordlessly back into the kitchen. Elysia's eyes traversed the walls for the hundredth time since she'd arrived in the Sand, wondering what it would take for Gaara to let her remodel the barren rooms that she was forced to live behind. The Kazekage took another swig of his drink, but as he lifted his chin, his eyes drifted to Elysia again. She had begun to eat, but he doubted she knew what she was even consuming. Her head was bowed, gazing into her lap, reading a book as she plucked blindly at her food. Her inclined head hid her face from Gaara's view, but an amused grin still crept across his lips as he saw her jump when he addressed her.

"Elysia."

Her head slowly rose to return his gaze.

"Lord Kazekage?" She acknowledged.

Elysia was shocked to see a ghost of a smile lingering on the Kazekage's lips, but his next words took her mind off of that quickly.

"In a few weeks time, shinobi from the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth will rendezvous in River Country. Your father has requested that you yourself make an appearance at this meeting."

This information took the noble by surprise in a variety of ways.

"We are allied with River Country...?"

Gaara's lips twitched, the smile having long since vanished from his lips.

"Albeit they offer no military reinforcements, they do aid us with supplies and intelligence on our enemy. In return, the Leaf and I have provided them with protection from our opponents."

What further stunned Elysia was that _the Kazekage hadn't hesitated to share this information with her_. If she was suspected to be such a traitor, then why had Gaara been so forward? If he was in such a generous mood, the he shouldn't mind shedding some light on other issues...

"The attack that Lady Temari and Lord Kankuro were sent to counter," She pressed.

"Who was the assailant?"

"The Sea Country."

Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins.

"A seafaring opponent...That... has to be the worst possible ally for the enemy to gain..."

"Yes," Gaara agreed solemnly, lifting a piece of pork to his lips.

_"Again... a forthright answer."_

Her brow furrowed in confusion, and the Kazekage never missed a beat.

"What is it?"

"Tell me, Lord Kazekage..."

Elysia marked her place in the book before closing it, then leaned forward.

"Why are you being so pretenseless?"

"Do you not deserve an honest answer?"

"As of yesterday, you didn't think so."

"I've come to another conclusion."

"You finally believe that I am no spy?"

"Not necessarily," The Kazekage corrected her with a crooked grin.

"I am merely trying another, more _subtle _approach with you."

"Which might be...?"

Gaara's grin broadened, his teeth beginning to peek from between his lips.

"Wouldn't make it much of a subtle approach if I told you, now would it?"

To her chagrin, he had stumped her with a valid point. Elysia grimaced, no longer finding the Kazekage's light spirits a spectacle to her.

_"He is toying with me..."_

Elysia had held her tongue so many times since she'd arrived in the Sand, it was a shock to her that it hadn't fallen off yet. She decided to change to conversation back to something in which she was more likely to get an answer out of the Kazekage.

"When did you hear from my father?"

Elysia would have thought that if her father had contacted the Kazekage, he would have contacted his own daughter as well. Gaarareached into his robes, and pulled out a shapely, beautifully embroidered letter. It bore the seal of the Lord of the Land of Earth, but it was now torn. The Kazekage had already satiated his curiosity.

"You got a response from your father earlier today."

He stretched his arm across the table, reaching the letter to the noble, who hastily retrieved it. Gaara watched her as she unfolded the parchment on the spot, not hesitating to read his reply. Her eyes flitted back and forth across the paper. It didn't come as a surprise to her, but her father was no poet. His response was blunt and straightforward, as he wished her the best in gaining the Sand's trust and that he looked forward to the Kazekage's reply as to whether or not Elysia would be able to tag along with him to the engagement in River Country. He also wrote for her to keep him posted on her experiences in the Sand, so that he could remain somewhat associated to his daughter. Elysia nodded, folding the letter back into its envelope.

"He is a man of few words," She found herself musing aloud.

Her eyes cut back up to the Kazekage, who had resumed eating his meal.

"Kind of like someone else I know."

Gaara's gaze flickered back up from his plate, not bothering to suppress the grin inching its way to his face. The woman held her chin in her hand, smiling softly as she awaited his reply.

_"She is teasing me... She shares Kankuro's audacious sense of humor."_

"Men like us prefer to speak by other means."

"My father speaks with his actions."

"As do I."

"You strike me as the type to do his talking with his sword."

"Never wielded a sword in my life."

Elysia chuckled nimbly into her drink.

"Well, alright. For you, you speak by the sand. Is that a bit more accurate?"

"Much."

Elysia placed her cup back onto the table, shifting her eyes to her empty plate. She realized that all the while she had been conversing with the Kazekage, she must have mauled her food unconsciously. There wasn't a scrap to prove food had ever even _been _on the dish. She brought her cup back up to her lips again, and nearly choked on her drink as a flash of tan darted through the window to her right.

"Lord Kazekage," The Sand shinobi addressed, kneeling down beside Gaara's seat.

His eyes flickered to Elysia, who was quickly recovering from her shock, her body turned away from the table as she coughed into her hand before acknowledging the shinobi beside him.

"Speak."

"A squad from the Leaf village has just arrived here, my lord."

"A _squad_, you say?"

His brow furrowed in concern, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully.

_"Naruto said he was only going to send one shinobi..."_

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara rose from his seat, waving his hand at Elysia. He strapped his gourd of sand firmly onto his back.

"Let's go, Elysia."

"_'Let's'_?" She repeated, following the Kazekage's example and pulling herself to her feet.

"Lead the way," Gaara commanded the Sand shinobi, dismissing the noble's confusion.

The three abandoned the palace, heading towards the Kazekage's building. By this time, the sun had barely moved from its place high in the clouds. Elysia frowned, feeling reminiscent.

_"It would be sunset by this time... In the Stone..."_

"Tell me... who does this squad consist of?" The Kazekage inquired.

"The squad is Neji Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara, led by Kakashi Hatake."

"I see..."

Elysia's brow furrowed, her mind suddenly racing at the sound of that last name.

_"Kakashi... Hatake? Where have I heard that name before?"_

The Kazekage came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road, holding his arm out in front of Elysia to stop her.

"Lord... Kazekage?" She questioned.

"The Hokage of the Leaf informed me that he would only be sending one person to speak to me," Gaara explained quietly. His lips barely moved as he spoke, glaring ahead of him.

"I remember you saying that..." She recalled, taking on his hushed tone.

"Maybe it was a miscommunication?"

"Knowing the Leaf's current Hokage... I'd say that's likely."

His lips twitched slightly, almost as if he wanted to smile.

"Regardless, I want you to stay behind me until I tell you it's alright. If they are impostors, they're either here for _me_, or they're here for _you_. Therefore, I want you in my line of sight until I know for sure."

Elysia nodded in understanding. The Sand shinobi finally realized that the kage was no longer following him, and he stopped, turning around and waving his arm in the air in an attempt to catch the Kazekage's attention.

"Lord Kazekage?"

Gaara nodded to the shinobi, and motioned for the noble to follow her once again. The Sand shinobi waited for his liege to catch up to him before proceeding to the Kazekage's building. As they approached the tower, Elysia was able to spot four ninja standing outside. The first ninja that came into view was a pale skinned man with, long, black hair. His arms were folded across his chest, his eyes closed. The second sat nonchalantly in the sand, staring with languid eyes up at the sky. His jet black hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. The sole female of the group stood erect compared to the others as she tucked her pink hair behind her ears. The tallest of the group was leaning against the structure, his leg bent, casually resting its heel on the wall as he read a bright orange book. His crazy silver hair stood on end, spiked primarily to one side. A navy blue cloth covered most of his face, his Leaf headband shifted over his left eye. He was the only one that she needed no introduction for. A wave of realization swept over Elysia, her jaw slackening in horror.

_"Kakashi..."_

Kakashi was the first to notice the approaching trio. He straightened up almost instantly, tucking his book away into his pouch of shinobi tools attached to his waist.

"It's been quite a while, Kazekage."

The Kazekage nodded, and Kakashi's dark gaze shifted to Elysia. His single visible eye not hidden beneath his Leaf headband lingered on her for only a moment, before returning to Gaara. He began to scratch his head, and his cloth mask contorted into the silhouette of a smile.

"I know you must be a bit irritated with Naruto at the moment. He said you would be."

"Doesn't even begin to cover it," The Kazekage grumbled, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest.

"Although, you must see his reasoning for changing his mind at the last minute, regardless of how brash his decision."

The Kazekage arched his brow, showing he was listening.

"We recently sent a Leaf shinobi into Shinobazu territory to rendezvous there in order to gather intelligence that the River Country claimed to have gathered on the Sound. Unfortunately, we never heard back from that shinobi, so the Leaf has decided that we'd be better off traveling in squads from now on."

Solemnly, Gaara stared down at his feet.

"We were also contacted by River Country. The scout the Sand sent to Shinobazu made it back alive, but he encountered opposition, which was dealt with swiftly."

Elysia imagined it had to have been hard for Gaara to restrain the competitive pride from his voice, but he masked it well. Kakashi's hand fell to his side.

"Well, that's enough small talk for now. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

"Right."

Gaara turned to the Sand shinobi, jerking his head swiftly to Elysia.

"Hibiki. Escort Elysia back home safely."

The Sand shinobi, identified as Hibiki, nodded, and bowed respectfully.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

Hibiki turned to Elysia, waiting for her to move with him. Although Elysia wasn't the least bit happy about being dragged out here in the searing heat only to have to go right back again, she supposed that Gaara dismissing her was actually a relief. It must mean that he trusted Kakashi and his squad enough to allow the noble to leave his side.

"Lady Elysia," Hibiki addressed her.

"Please, this way."

Despite herself, Elysia felt a _priggish _smile tug at the corner of her lips. She'd always received the title "Lady" back in the Land of Earth, since she had been born. But ever since her arrival in Sand, she'd been dubbed commonly. As conceited as she knew it was of her, she couldn't help but feel her spirits rise ever so slightly. Spinning on her heel, she obliged, falling into step behind Hibiki.

* * *

Hibiki may have made her feel a bit better about herself, but the Help did their job on the noble as usual, and two minutes after returning home and she found herself moping, wallowing in a sea of dejection. She'd asked the Help to go with her to the roof to paint the sunset, take her to the art gallery, to the library. They all ignored her. Her efforts in finding Setsuko and Erihen were in vain, as they were nowhere to be found, and the maids were all giving her the silent treatment. Elysia retreated back into her room, mentally chanting the word _bastards_. She shut the door behind her, and laid in the middle of the room on her back. Her eyes focused on a random point on the ceiling, and her thoughts drifted away.

_"The Kazekage is like a different man entirely..."_

It was only yesterday he glared her down like he was her master, and she was the devious cat that had pissed in his shoes. It had been a vexing spell of biting her sarcastic tongue until it damn near bled, but suddenly the red head had turned the tables on her entirely. He treated her as if she were _human_. His words echoed in her mind, his coy grin still playing on his lips in front of her eyes.

_**" 'I am merely trying another, more**_** subtle **_**approach with you'."**_

_"Subtle, huh..."_

It sounded to Elysia that the Kazekage had thrown in the towel trying to get her to outright slip up and all but confess she was indeed sent to infiltrate his village, so he'd resorted to a more 'passive-aggressive' method. Instead, he was trying to play nice guy with her, get her to trust him, mess with her head, then strike when he found a legit reason to.

Elysia rolled on the floor, flopping onto her stomach.

_"That has got to be it... Conniving asshole, I would not put it past him..."_

No matter. She had nothing to hide, not from _him_, not from _anyone_. And if he wanted to play the skittish prude, that was fine by her. Two could play that game. Protecting his village from her when he thought she might be a spy was one thing; attempting to play mind games with her was another thing entirely, something she would _not _let slide.

* * *

"Ngh!! You're such a bitch!!"

Temari closed her eyes, tugging violently on the gauze she wrapped her brother's leg in, letting him feel the retribution for his negligence.

"It's what you get for not listening to me, _cur_," She snapped relentlessly.

"I told you not to get reckless... So what do you go do? It wasn't like you ran headlong into the enemy without making sure you had backup or anything."

Kankuro sneered, prodding his bandaged wound gingerly with his middle finger. A man with a coat of long, shaggy dark hair jogged over to the puppeteer, kneeling down beside him with a crooked grin across his face. His pale blue eyes gave away to how exhausted he was, yet a spark of amusement still shone behind the fatigue.

"You know, Kankuro, my man... your big sis has a point there."

"Tch!"

The man laughed, reaching for his comrade, who promptly jerked away from him.

"Some friend you are, Todara. So who the hell's side are you on, anyways?"

Todara chuckled, shrugging as he again tried to grasp ahold of Kankuro's shredded arm. This time, the black clad shinobi allowed himself to be treated. A soft grin broke across Temari's face, smug yet concerned.

"I am on no one's side. Just on whoever's right in my eyes, you know I don't take teams," Todara answered, dipping his thumb into the ointment in his hands.

He moved to spread the thick medicine on his friend's wounds, pausing long enough to warn him;

"Now, this might hurt a little bit, my man."

"I can take this shit. Just do it."

Todara obliged, and Kankuro instantly wished he hadn't. He bit back a scream as a cry of agony threatened to spill from his lips. The ointment stung, and he was enlightened with a whole new meaning of 'pouring salt into the wound'.

"You alright, Kankuro?" Temari asked, her voice low as if speaking any higher might hurt him.

Afraid that speaking might cause him to cry out, he simply lied by nodding. His sister pat him gently on his shoulder before straightening her back, rising to her feet.

"Alright! Rusia, where are you?"

"Present!"

Temari turned in the direction of the voice that responded to her call, watching the awkward blond stumble forward. Scratching his chin, he carefully ambled over the wounded bodies strewn across the sand.

"Where have you been?" Temari demanded, hands on her hips.

"You should have here helping the injured!"

"But, I-I was, Lady Tem-ari..."

He pointed behind him to a young brunette, laying unconscious. Her cheeks were stained with red, her dark hair all but glued to her face by the dried blood.

_"Matsuri..."_

"You help over here! I'll take care of her."

"Uhm, al-alright..."

Temari wove between the groaning bodies, kneeling down beside Gaara's old apprentice and old-time personal pain in the ass of hers. However, as annoying as the wind user often found the fangirl, she wasn't quite yet ready to see the girl die. And judging from the daunting size of the laceration tearing across her abdomen, she just _might_. Temari placed her index and middle fingers firmly against the kunoichi's vein in her neck.

_"It's faint, but there's still a pulse." _

"Noborou!"

"My Lady?"

"Come here, right now!"

Noborou dropped down next to Temari, his rugged hands already stained with the blood of his comrades. He was, hands down, one of the best healers the Sand had ever produced. Even Chiyo, during her lifetime, had been impressed with the man's prowess with medical ninjutsu. Temari had never seen the girl with her own eyes, but his daughter Junko was supposedly expected to be even more talented with medical ninjutsu than her already prestigious father.

The medic crossed his right palm over his left, his hands hovering over over Matsuri's limp body. A pale green light emitted from his hands, misting over her abdomen. Temari stroked Matsuri's cheek, remorseful.

_"She was in Kankuro's squad... I should've known that she'd be the only one ignorant enough to listen to his _obviously _suicidal tactics..."_

Matsuri stirred, her fingers twitching slightly as she dug up sand beneath her fingernails.

_"Oh thank god..."_

Temari removed her hand from the girl's cheek, and leaned over the kunoichi.

"Matsuri... Can you hear me?"

The kunoichi moaned softly, puckering her lip almost in a pout. Temari frowned, not wanting to have to resort to _that_, but the girl really gave her no choice.

"Oh, _Gaara_! How kind of you to come here just to see if _Matsuri _is doing well!"

Matsuri's eyes shot open, her mouth dropping in an obnoxious gasp. She sat up boltright, knocking Noborou out of her way as her head whipped around frantically, almost performing a complete 360 degree turn.

"Lord G-G-Gaara!! Where!!"

Matsuri looked hopefully to the Kazekage's elder sister, her eyes wide and wildly attentive. Temari chuckled to herself, shrugging apologetically.

"Sorry."

"Lady Temari!!" Matsuri wept through her melodramatic tears as she realized what had just happened.

"That was _mean_!!"

Noborou laughed, shaking his head.

"How is Lord Kankuro holding up, Lady Temari? Does he need my attention as well?"

Temari bit her lip, all business at the mention of her brother.

"His wounds are many, but not all that bad. For the most part, he was pretty lucky. The worst injury he received over the course of the battle was on his right arm. If you could just spend a second to close that up so he could fluently use his puppets again, that would--"

"I understand. I'll get right on it."

"Thank you."

She turned back to Matsuri, who was still rubbing her eyes as she cried fake tears in disappointment. Temari rolled her eyes, rising back to her feet.

"You need to get over Gaara, and get a real man, Matsuri," She advised.

"Gaara is just... not interested in love."

Temari turned, ignoring the kunoichi as she muttered something about "making Gaara see the light", searching the small crowd for more critically injured shinobi, when her name was called into the wind.

"Lady Temari!!"

"What is it?" She called back, drifting towards the sound of the voice.

It was Rusia. He was bent over a motionless shinobi, staring warily at him as if afraid to touch him.

"I've... I've got a survivor over here!"

Temari stepped over a recovering Sand ninja, quickly closing the distance between her and the blond shinobi.

"Well, then, get him fixed up!"

"I know that, but..."

He gazed down at the shinobi, stepping back skeptically as he began to groan and clutch at the sand in desperation. The injured ninja turned, and Temari gasped as she, too, registered what had put Rusia on edge.

"... He's a shinobi of Sea Country."

* * *

Sakura groaned, leaning against the windowsill. The trip to Sand from Leaf was never easy, and she tried to give herself something to look forward to each and every time she was forced to make the journey. She'd planned on hanging out with Temari, only to come to find that she was halfway across the desert fighting the enemy. Not even Kankuro was around to tease today. And Gaara, well... she _still _got a tad squeamish every time she looked dead on into those black-rimmed, teal eyes of his. Naruto had tried to convince her time and time again to simply let bygones be bygones, but she'd never been one to so easily let the past drop completely.

"...We have orders from Lord Hokage to head straight out for River Country once we are finished here."

Gaara leaned against his desk, absentmindedly shuffling the papers scattered across the top.

"That's fine. I just want to hear a report in from Temari and Kankuro before we depart. We can leave for the Shinobazu territory anytime after that."

Kakashi nodded affirmatively. Gaara took the opportunity to get the ball rolling on foreign relations, the most controversial matter at hand.

"The Leaf... What is their answer to allying themselves with the Land of Earth?"

From the corner of the room, Neji stirred uneasily.

"The Hokage was all for having a new ally in the war against the Sound and Lightning," The Hyuuga began.

"But the elders convinced him to wait to make his decision. It wasn't until we got wind of the Sound obtaining a third ally to assist them in the war that even they were unanimous. The Land of Fire will accept the Land of Wind's request."

Gaara nodded his approval.

"Good. If we're going to be in this together, we might as well be all in."

"The Leaf does have one request, though," Kakashi added, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"It comes directly from the Hokage himself."

"Speak it."

"They want to meet this noble woman in person."

"Those were my intentions."

"Then we have no issues there."

Gaara's eyes drifted to the window. It was beginning to get dark. Within the next hour, night would be upon them.

"In the meantime, allow me to offer you my hospitality. Are you hungry?"

Sakura wasn't about to turn a new leaf and start being shy now.

"I am."

"Eh, I guess a bite or two would be nice," Shikamaru agreed dully.

The Kazekage nodded, motioning for the Leaf shinobi to follow him.

"I have already eaten, so I won't be joining you. I hope that won't be a problem," Gaara clarified as he threw open the front doors.

He almost moved to hold the door open to Sakura, until he caught himself in the act and resisted his gentlemanly urges.

"Oh, I think we'll manage," Kakashi responded, reaching into his pouch to read his novel.

"You should meet the woman we spoke of," The Kazekage continued.

"Her name is Elysia. She is surprisingly easy to get along with."

"Are you taking her with you when you depart for River Country?" The copy ninja inquired, turning a page in his book.

"Naturally."

The Kazekage open the door to his home, tossing aside his gourd of sand.

"I will go get Elysia."

_"She will probably be in her room by now."_

Gaara ordered the maids to fix a meal for his honored guests before climbing the stairs to Elysia's room. When he opened the door, the room was dim, the only light being the sun, and that, too, was beginning to fade.

"Elysia."

He strolled to the edge of her bed, where he saw her slender figure laying, curled into a ball. Before he could begin debating on whether to wake her or let her sleep, she spoke, her eyes remaining closed.

"It's kinda rude to enter unannounced into a female's room, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara's jaw hung slightly ajar, confused. He quickly composed himself, folding his arms across his chest.

"Come out and meet the Leaf shinobi."

Not knowing if the Kazekage was still in such a generous mood, and not wanting to ruin it if he was, Elysia obediently rolled out of bed. She gently smoothed out the front of her kimono. While the conversation was still fresh in his mind, Gaara graced her with his good news.

"The Land of Fire have agreed to ally themselves with the Land of Earth."

He decided to conveniently _forget _to add the information that the Leaf would not have agreed, had the Sound not allied with the Sea Country. She could live without knowing that little tidbit of information.

As Gaara had expected, a grin broke across her face, and she grasped ahold of her forearms with glee.

_"That is wonderful! Now I have _**two **_nations to whom I must prove that I am not the scum of the earth!!"_

Instead, she nodded to the Kazekage, once again biting her sarcastic tongue.

"That is heartening news indeed, Lord Kazekage. Thank you for keeping your word."

He waved to the door, meaning to usher her out of it. Instead, she made a break for her dresser, picking up the finished novel.

"I finished the book earlier today, after I returned home."

"What did you think of it?"

She faced him, avoiding extended eye contact as she turned, the novel loose in her grasp. His eyes were blank as he stared back at her, so she found it hard to believe that he valued her opinion in the least, but she replied anyways,

"I loved it. You have good taste, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara momentarily cast aside his ambitions of introducing her to the Leaf shinobi, sitting down on the corner of her bed.

"Is that so?"

He'd tried to get his siblings to read the book, but Temari had refused, and Kankuro had simply laughed at him and asked him if he was serious.

"Oh, yes. I imagine Michi was intended to be a very disliked character because of his obvious flaws, but I found him to be a very attractive person."

"Attractive..." Gaara repeated, his voice a hushed tone of serene awe.

"Yeah."

Elysia tucked her hair behind her ears, running her finger absentmindedly along her earlobe.

"Maybe I am just strange like that. But I have always been drawn to the ones who are most flawed. The characters you would think no one else would look twice at-- I find them intriguing."

"And, the way the story ended..."

"...With Michi's death..."

Gaara gazed out the window. Elysia gazed up to see the far off gleam in his eyes.

"I wish I could have rewritten the ending to that book," The Kazekage mused aloud, almost bitterly.

Elysia got the sinking feeling that she wasn't supposed to have heard that.

"How would you have written the ending, Lord Kazekage...?"

The Kazekage's eyes shifted back to her, and she averted her own gaze to her feet.

"...I would have let him have a happy ending... He died alone, and hated, with the knowledge that everyone around him thought of him as nothing but a _monster_."

A pang shot through Elysia's stomach as she realized that, perhaps, Gaara had taken this book to a much more _personal _level. Although, she couldn't exactly understand how he figured that he himself would end up anything like Michi had. Gaara was the Kazekage; he was loved, and he knew it. He was not alone, and he knew that as well. The Shukaku had long since been extracted from him, and even if it hadn't been, he was still far from being considered a terrorizing _beast_. Granted, Elysia found him to be the most uncharming man on the face of the earth at times, but... Gaara had made the decision to change himself, where Michi had not. The character of Michi had killed, and he had thoroughly enjoyed it. He murdered animals, the innocent, his family. He didn't care. It wasn't until he'd tried to kill the wrong person that became the death of him.

"Michi... murdered everyone. His daughter, his wife, random people who did small things that irritated him. Even after he fell in love with Airi, he wanted to kill _her_, too. He loved her, but wanted to _murder _her. He _would _have killed her, too, if Isamu hadn't been brave enough to stand up to Michi, and kill him before Michi murdered Airi. I can understand you wanting to change the ending, to make Michi realize the error of his ways, but he didn't, so he died. If you are so bitter about how the story ended, Lord Kazekage, then how come you gave the book so much praise?"

Gaara was silent a moment, before heaving a sigh. He waved his hand as if to dismiss the ordeal, dragging himself to his feet from his seat on the corner of Elysia's bed.

"We should go. The Leaf are waiting."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this one took a bit longer to get up. I rarely had any time to write during this past week, as I've been really busy. Also, I should explain that I have read the manga released from Japan up to the Kage Summit Arc. So, if you haven't gotten that far into the series, or are past it and there's something that I've missed, some chapters might pose a bit of a challenge to comprehend. But if you've got any questions or want something explained, you need only to ask me. I'll try to keep it pretty clear, but I don't know how "clear" is defined for readers who are at different places in the manga and/or anime.

I know I've made Elysia a bit of a questionably shady character up until now, but much of her life and her past will be revealed in this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto has full rights to that.

* * *

The morning sun beat red hot on Elysia's skin, rousing her from her slumber. She yawned, stretching her arms up and above her head, and it occurred to her that the days seemed to blend together like watercolors in a cesspool of meaninglessness. Her morbid thoughts showed through in her actions as well. Her constant state of depression did not go unnoticed by the young Kazekage, much to his chagrin. How was he supposed to know what to do with her? He had no idea what she wanted, or what had even caused the sudden change. Even his attempts to strike up conversation with her, which had only once occurred as naturally as it had with his siblings, were in vain. If he could not "cure" her of her sadness, he wished he could simply dismiss it altogether. However, the more he tried to forget about Elysia, the more he found himself actually thinking about her, and the warning Temari left him with before departing for the Temujin Shores.

_"Traitor or not, she could upset the scale of this entire war." _

"Gaara said I would find you up here."

Elysia cringed, bringing her brush down to her side. She swallowed back the nausea rising in her throat.

_"Kakashi..."_

The shinobi's attention cut to the maid resting on the edge of the roof, then went right back to his book again.

"Erihen, was it?"

"Yes, Kakashi senpai..."

Kakashi nodded, his eyes never leaving the pages that commanded his total attention.

"We're about to commence a meeting briefing us on the Kazekage's decision pertaining to when we will depart for River Country. Lord Kazekage has asked me to bring you to his office, Elysia, so, if you will..."

Her grip on her paintbrush tightened, the wood nearly giving way under her fierce grasp. Kakashi turned to leave, and Erihen readily sprang to her feet.

"You'd better go immediately, mi'lady. You don't want to keep Lord Kazekage waiting. I'll put your things away, so please don't worry."

The maid emphasized her point by relieving the noble of her palette and brush, ushering her to follow Kakashi before she lost him and got in trouble with the Kazekage. Elysia did as she was advised, falling into step behind the silver haired Jounin. The moment silence wrapped its possessive hands around her, her body automatically followed him, but her mind drifted away to another place.

* * *

**The woman's soft, flamming tresses brushed against her daughter's cheeks, planting sweet butterfly kisses on her forehead.**

**"Mother," The child scolded playfully.**

**She waved her hand between them, and her mother clasped her tiny fingers in her own. Her husband chuckled to himself, strolling up beside of the two females, wrapping his arm loosely around his wife's slender waist.**

**"Etsumi... you have work to be done, don't you?"**

**"Oh, love, don't be that way."**

**"Yeah! Don't be that way!" The child mimicked, a broad grin spreading across her face.**

**Shaking his head, he began to steer his wife away from their daughter, threatening her to stay put or else.**

**"Party pooper!" The girl called, darting out the back patio door into the gazebo before she could be chastised.**

**The man growled, already starting after his daughter with a raised fist. His wife quickly placed a hand on his chest, restraining him with her intense eyes.**

**"Don't be so harsh with her, Tyjumae. She'll grow up hateful and bitter like you," She teased, though her voice dripped with venom, as she pushed him out of earshot from the maids.**

**The lord seethed, his hands seizing his wife's wrists.**

**"Better than her aging to be an uncontained free spirit... just like her sister and her mother."**

**Etsumi scoffed, shaking out of her husband's hold as if his strength were nothing.**

**"Don't even _think _about reprimanding Elysia again. She is neither hostile like you nor is she some untamed beast. She is a _child_, Tyjumae; children are naive and playful in their nature. Touch a hair on that child's head, and you'll wish you hadn't."**

**"Bah!"**

**The lord tossed his hands into the air.**

**"Miserable _wretch_... Just get going already."**

**"As you wish, asshole."**

**Tyjumae's eyes snapped open with a wild rage, and he turned with clenched fists to his wife. She vanished in a blur of dirt, leaving him with a mound to dust up in her wake. The last thing he caught of his spouse was an arrogant smile, planted firmly on her lips. His jaw set, he whirled angrily to the nearest maid.**

**"You!" He spat, causing the poor woman to squeal in fright.**

**The lord pointed to the mountain of dirt at his feet. She tensed, clutching at her breasts, oblivious to the prior hushed argument.**

**"Get this cleaned up, _now_!!"**

**"Y-yes, my l-lord..."**

**He hastily turned again, and his eyes burned into those of his eldest daughter. She gasped as she was detected, quickly flitting past him and out the door to the gazebo, as she'd seen her younger sister do only a moment ago. He made a move to grab ahold of the collar of her kimono as she passed him, but evaded his slow grasp with her mother's inherited shinobi reflexes.**

**"_Elysia_!!"**

* * *

"...Elysia."

The noble blinked, her eyes settling on cool teal orbs, reflecting her own eyes back to her like glass.

"Lord Kazekage."

Gaara nodded curtly, satisfied that she was in fact paying attention to him.

"I've just gotten word from Temari and Kankuro."

Elysia's ears tingled at the information, her head perking with interest.

"How are they doing? Have they successfully crushed the resistance?"

Gaara nodded, his eyes scanning the other shinobi in the room. He gently pushed himself off of his desk in which he had been leaning on.

"They've also captured an enemy shinobi of Sea Country. One squad will escort him here and throw him into prison until my return, and the other three squads are to report to River Country."

Elysia furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Wait... 'Until your return'?"

"Yes. Now that I know Temari and Kankuro are safe, there's no reason to delay my trip to River Country any further. The Land of Earth will have already arrived there by the time we reach Shinobazu territory."

Kakashi nodded affirmatively, and Elysia was shocked to see that he'd heard anything that had been said with his nose buried in that book of his. Out of curiosity, she tilted her head to get a better look at the cover.

_"Make Out, Volume 3..."_

She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Your belongings have already been packed," Gaara announced, pointing to a single bag slung across the back of a chair.

"Temari and Kankuro along with their squads will meet us in Shinobazu. We are leaving immediately."

Elysia winced as if she'd been physically assaulted.

"That is... sudden."

She immediately became the object of scrutiny for all of the shinobi in the room, shying to the shadows under their apathetic stare. Neji swung her bag over his shoulder, glancing out the window.

"It's midday. If we leave shortly, we can camp overnight and arrive in River Country by nightfall tomorrow."

* * *

Under normal circumstances, the silence would have driven Elysia mad. However, her thoughts were elsewhere, so she hardly minded the lack of conversation. She merely clung onto Sakura's shoulders as the shinobi advanced to River Country.

* * *

**The two children wrestled for dominance of the elegant gazebo lounge chair-- favored by both of the girls. They scratched each other's skin, bit hands and yanked on each other's hair. When one of the maids heard the commotion, she paled at the sight before her.**

**"P-please!! Girls!! Not now, of all times!" She pleaded softly but firmly.**

**Her pleas landed upon deaf ears, as her voice was drowned out in the girls' fighting. Helpless, the maid retreated back into the palace to call reinforcements. Just as the sisters were about to commence clawing at each other's eyes with a cat-like ferocity, they were lifted up off the ground by the collar of their kimonos. The younger of the two squealed, her voice shrill and terrified. The shinobi who had lifted the children up recoiled at the noise, and brought the tiny girl higher, level with his face.**

**"Sheesh, girly. Calm it down, before your father comes out here and puts his foot where the sun don't shine."**

**"Where is that?" The child asked, giggling.**

**Her elder sister pouted, and began to pry at the shinobi's hands. His attention instantly snapped to her, and shook her gently.**

**"I'd expected better of _you_, Elysia. Don't instigate fights with your little sister."**

**"Let me go, Katsuo!"**

**The shinobi clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and dropped the child on the spot.**

**"As the Lady wishes."**

**She quickly composed herself before she hit the gravel, catching herself in time to avoid any scrapes resulting from the fall. Katsuo chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement, and Elysia glared up at him.**

**"The similarities between you and your mother are much more than merely skin deep."**

**Elysia remained silent, scrambling to the lounge chair, causing her younger sister to choke out a sobbing noise before she was shushed by the shinobi who held her.**

**"You can hear you two fighting all the way in the study. Lord Tyjumae has some very important guests visiting from Grass Country right now, and you're damn lucky he didn't hear you."**

**The eldest heir shifted in her seat, pulling her legs underneath her as she held onto her ankles.**

**"Where is my mother?"**

**Katsuo pursed his lips, and before Elysia could register his hesitation, he spoke.**

**"She out on a mission right now. She'll be back by tonight."**

**"You are lying."**

**The shinobi placed the youngest child on the ground, watching her tear across the yard as she threw herself into a patch of azaleas, the lounge chair already forgotten.**

**"How do you figure I'm lying?"**

**Elysia's eyes cut to her sister, as if afraid she might hear, before lowering her voice to a whisper.**

**"You are _always _with mother. Whenever she leaves for a mission, you go with her. _Always_."**

**A bitter smile flickered across his lips.**

**"You're clever."**

**"Do not try and change the subject. Tell me where my mom is."**

**Katsuo shrugged nonchalantly, heaving a sigh.**

**"I don't know. She wouldn't let me go on this one, and I wasn't given the details. It's highly classified, this one is."**

**Her brow furrowed as she began to chew on her bottom lip.**

**"Do you think it has something to do with the war between us and the Land of Fire?"**

**Katsuo shook his head.**

**"If it had anything to do with the war, Lord Tsuchikage would never have sent Lady Etsumi on her own. It's probably just a minor recon mission."**

**His hand brushed Elysia's bangs out of her eyes, smiling down at her as she pouted, her tiny face scrunched deep in thought.**

**"I wouldn't worry about it, kiddo. Your mother's a powerful woman, one of the best kunoichi in the Hidden Stone. Nothing is going to happen to her."**

* * *

"We stay the night here."

Elysia felt Sakura's muscles shift beneath her grasp. The kunoichi came to a halt, kneeling down so the noble could dismount.

"Right."

The noble climbed off of Sakura's back, staggering backwards, momentarily disorientated. The man she'd come to know as Neji was at her side in a flash, his hands poised to catch her should she fall. She shook her head, forcing herself to smile at him.

"I am alright, thank you."

The Hyuuga accepted her assurance wordlessly, nodding as he turned to the other shinobi in the clearing. He spoke softly to Kakashi, who casually slipped his hands in his pockets as he cocked his head to listen in. Elysia brought her hands together behind her back, wringing them fervently until they were drenched with sweat. Before she could help it, she found herself eyeing the silver haired Jounin with malice. The pink haired Jounin arched an eyebrow at the princess' fidgety demeanor, her sweaty hands, glancing from Kakashi and back to Elysia. Her lips parted to question her, watching her warily, when Gaara stepped forward to intervene.

"Follow me," He instructed, waving his hand as he strode into the building before them.

For the first time since they'd arrived, Elysia took in the surrounding town they had stopped in. There must have been a festival fast approaching, because the small place-- lucky to be granted a place on the map-- was bustling shoulder-to-shoulder with cheery commoners. Bright lights and lanterns strung from every rooftop, and vendors pushed themselves to the point of exertion trying to make a sale or two from passerbys. Gaara reached the door of the inn first, holding it open for the females that followed him. As she passed him, Elysia could have sworn she'd heard him swear softly to himself. He mumbled incoherently to the clerk at the inn, but the girl must've understood his tone because she smiled a bit _too _brightly at him, tossing him a flirtatious wink before handing him a ring of keys. Oblivious to her attitude towards him, he briskly climbed the stairs, Elysia in pursuit. It wasn't until she reached the top of the stairs that she realized Sakura had strayed off somewhere else. Gaara fumbled with the keys a moment, before opening the sturdy wooden door.

"This room will be shared by you and Sakura."

Elysia nodded her understanding, stepping into the room. The walls were painted a crisp blue and the hardwood floor brilliantly shined. The room was simple, but quaint. Quite the transition from one who had been living in the dull palace of sand. Arms crossed across her chest, she held her elbows firmly to her body as she swept across the room and sat on the bed, almost immediately springing back to her feet as a particular realization set in.

"My bag, Neji--"

"Will bring it up here when he is finished talking to Kakashi," The Kazekage finished abruptly.

The noble accepted his assurance wordlessly, turning her back to him and taking a step closer to the adjacent window. She listened carefully to the sounds of the life around her; the joyous laughter, the unusually cheerful street hawkers, the door behind her as the Kazekage left her. Elysia closed in on the window, resting her palms on the sill, peering down on the celebrants. A young child swung between the arms of his mother and father, a huge grin plastered on his boyish face. Yet, the child's joy did not affect her, as it usually would have, and she drifted into terrifying silence.

* * *

**"Come on, come on!!"**

**The child dragged her elder sibling through the streets, picking her pace up to a full blown sprint in her terror. She was caught off guard, and lost her balance when her sister suddenly came to a screeching halt. Elysia puffed out her chest, filling her ego to the brim with self-confidence. She tried to release her sibling's hand, only to have Neiada tighten her grasp.**

**"We have to split up."**

**Her sister's eyes grew to the size of saucers, shaking her head madly. The child's wild light hair made halos around her as she flailed.**

**"No!" She cried, tugging on her elder sister's arm.**

**Tears spilled from her eyes, soaking her fevered cheeks. She continued to pull on her sister's arm, and though Elysia never would have admitted it, the pain that was shooting through her shoulder every time her sister tugged on her was beginning to take its toll. Her entire shoulder burned with the strain.**

**"We cannot split up! They will find us!"**

**"They'll find us anyways. And then we'll both die!" Elysia spat, jerking arm arm free in one final desperate attempt.**

**She watched as her younger sister's lips trembled, cracked and bleeding from biting at the skin.**

**"Mom..."**

**"Is dead, just as we will be if we stay still," Elysia finished coldly.**

**Despite herself, she reached up to her aching shoulder and began to massage it lightly.**

**_"Think, Elysia, _think_... You know this village better than any of these Leaf jerks. You know every single spot there is to know, so if you can just get Neiada somewhere safe to hide, you can go find a Stone shinobi to protect us... If only Katsuo had just stayed with us..."_**

**"Let us get you somewhere safe," She murmured, reaching for her sister's hand again.**

**The child shook her head, whimpering. She held her hands to her breast, clutching at the collar of her kimono, catching on to her elder sister's .**

**"I'm not going anywhere without you, sister."**

**Elysia bit her lip, and she felt a fury like she'd never known before wash over her. Before she could stop herself, her small hands were clentched tightly around her sister's collar, shaking her violently.**

**"Shut up, stupid!! We are not just going to lay down and die here, got it?"**

**Fresh tears began to slide down Neiada's cheeks, but she slowly nodded her understanding. Elysia felt her temper mellow, and she released her sister's kimono, instantly regretful of her outburst. Before she could speak again, however, a familiar voice cut through the smoke and smoldering fires around them.**

**"No, please, don't, no--!"**

_**"Fauna, the baker."**_

**The woman was quickly silenced with a metallic _clink_, and the girls heard her crumple onto the ground. Her face twisting into one of sheer terror, Neiada's mouth dropped open in a silent scream. Elysia slapped her hand over her sister's mouth before any sound could escape. She soundlessly ushered her sister to her feet, and herded them into a small house with its door ajar.**

**"The enemy ninja... they're coming for us!" Neiada moaned the second her sister's hand left her mouth.**

**"Shut up, you idiot!" Elysia hissed, leading them to a short flight of steps, leading to a boarded ceiling and what seemed like an attic.**

**"If we die here, we go down fighting, you hear me?"**

**"But, we aren't ninja. We can't fight the Leaf village shinobi..."**

**"It's all about pride. We won't die pitifully begging for our lives."**

**Neiada nodded, followng her sister in silence as she pushed up on the boarded ceiling, opening up onto the roof. Whoever had previously lived here had been doing some work to the roof in which never got finished. Loose tiles and buckets of adhesive littered the rooftop. Neiada cringed, shrinking back into the smoke when two silluhettes emerged from the smoldering ashes. She cried aloud when she saw the men, only to have the sound stiffled by her sister, slamming her hand over her mouth once again. Elysia bit her lip to supress a cry of her own.**

**

* * *

**

**"Took you long enough. Where have you--?"**

**Etsumi slammed into Tyjumae relentlessly, grasping his shoulders in a hold he couldn't shake.**

**"Where are Neiada and Elysia?"**

**Sneering at her brash attitude, the lord pointed in the direction of the gazebo.**

**"They're on their way to the festival with Katsuo."**

**"_No_!" She screamed, throwing her husband aside and flitting out the door.**

**Rising to his feet, Tyjumae balled his hands into fists at his side as he listened to his daughters outside coo over the return of their mother.**

**"What the _hell _has gotten into that woman?"**

**He jumped as an explosion resounded in the distance, his heart slamming into his ribcage.**

**"What was--?"**

**"Asuka! Izumi!" He heard his wife cry from the gazebo.**

**"Inform the Tsuchikage right away! Order every shinobi you see Chuunin and above along the way to fortify the village immediately!"**

**"Yes, m'ilady!"**

**In horror, Tyjumae backed away from the door, his body trembling.**

**"The Stone... is under attack?" He whispered in disbelief.**

**"It must be the Leaf..."**

**He turned, bolting from the palace and headed straight for the building of the Tsuchikage.**

**Etsumi spun on her heels, her blue eyes flashing dangerously to a third shinobi in the yard.**

**"You're coming with me, Katsuo. I want to make certain those sons of bitches don't lay a _finger _on my daughters."**

**"Right."**

**Her eyes cast down to her children for the first time since she'd returned. A solemn sadness spread in her gaze, and Elysia reached up for her mother's tresses, the bright hair the same as her own. Etsumi stepped away from her children, and out of her eldest daughter's grasp.**

**"We're too late."**

**A shudder ran down Katsuo's spine.**

**"M-my lady?"**

**"The Leaf have already breached the gates, of that I'm sure. I barely beat them back here myself when I discovered their plans to ambush us."**

**"Oh, shit..."**

**Katsuo ran a shaking hand through his dirty blond hair, his gaze shifting to the two noble heirs of the Stone. He knew Etsumi cared less than nothing for her arranged husband, and the feeling was mutual, but she deeply loved her two daughters. Watching them murmur to one another their theories on what was happening, he came to a silent conclusion.**

**"I'll protect them with my life, my lady."**

**Etsumi smiled bitterly, her flawless face twisted into a sneer.**

**"I know you would. Unfortunately, that's foremost _my _job."**

**"Lady Etsumi--"**

**"Take Neiada and Elysia. Hide them somewhere safe. Avoid fighting when possible, engage only when you feel threatened but make your battles quick."**

**Katsuo knelt down, and Elysia climbed obediently onto his back. He gathered Neiada in his arms, hesitating even when Etsumi shot him a warning glance.**

**"Get going!" She hissed.**

**"Etsumi... What do you mean to do?" He muttered, his voice barely audiable.**

**"I mean to protect my village."**

**He opened his mouth to speak, when a pair of Leaf shinobi burst into the clearing. One man brought his hands up in a sign of the ram, and a shadow spread across the garden. Etsumi swore aloud as she was swiftly caught, struggling in vain.**

**"Move it!" Etsumi snapped angrily.**

**"It's some type of paralysis jutsu!"**

**Katsuo obediently leapt out of the shadow's path, backpeddaling out of the jutsu's range.**

**"Kakashi!" The man using the shadow jutsu called, calmly eyeing Katsuo, already formulating a plan in his mind to catch the Stone shinobi in his shadow.**

**"Got it," The second man, called Kakashi, replied.**

**He held his hands out in front of him, making a few quick hand signs before his hand was engulfed in lightning. A string of curses spilled angrily from Katsuo's tongue.**

**"Kakashi! The _Copy-Ninja_, Kakashi!"**

**He set the two girls on the ground, turning his back defiantly on them.**

**"Sorry, but I have to help your mother, girls. You're smart... go hide somewhere out of the line of fire."**

**Elysia nodded in understanding, reaching to drag her traumatized sister with her. They last thing she saw was this man called Kakashi charging her mother, the lightning in his hand burying itself in her mother's chest before Katsuo even had a chance of reaching her. She heard an agonized scream, but couldn't tell if it belonged to her mother, her sister, or even herself.**

**

* * *

**

**Neiada whimpered again, and Elysia wanted to scream in frustration. Not once had she really allowed herself to crack since she'd left her mother in Katsuo's incapable hands, when all she really wanted to do was curl into a ball in some desolate corner and cry with everything in her. Instead, she bravely held her sister's hand, backing them away from the edge of the roof. She pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling for her sister to stop her sobbing. But it was no use. Neiada continued to cry, burying her face into the sleeve of her kimono.**

**"Neiada!" Elysia whispered, trying to be calming but firm in her tone.**

**"You're going to give us away!"**

**The men continued running down the street nonetheless, and had almost passed by the house completely, when Neiada lost her balance on the stray tiles trying to back away from the edge and tumbled off the side of the roof. Elysia screamed in horror and swiped at her sister in vain, the child quickly slipping through her fingers. Neiada cried out in fright as she landed on top of a small barrel, shattering into splinters beneath her. The water inside the container splattered across the street, and the girl found herself sloshing in a thin layer of mud. Elysia clawed at her arms in distress as she watched the Leaf shinobi came to an abrupt halt, turning to investigate the source of the commotion.**

**" 'The hell was that?" The man Elysia recgonized as the shadow user demanded.**

**Neiada gasped, attempting to scramble back into the house. She was lifted easily into the air by the shadow user. The moment she felt herself leave the ground, she began to kick and squirm, a sound between a scream and a sob escaping her lips. The silver haired man joined the shadow user, watching in apathy as the child writhed in his grasp.**

**"...Hey, Kakashi. Isn't this one of the noble brats?"**

**Elysia watched Kakashi's shoulders rise and fall curtly through the smoke before turning to leave. A spark of hope flickered inside of her, seeing the shinobi dismiss her sister so casually. Then, the shadow user's next words extinguished that hope almost instantly.**

**"Should we kill her?"**

**Neiada's screams rose to an earsplitting level, kicking fiercer than before as she cried out almost incoherently for her mother, her father, for Kastuo. Elysia caught her younger sister sob for the maids to help her, for the Tsuchikage to rescue her. The only name she didn't catch was her own. She realized, as her chest seemed to cave in on her, that Neiada was _protecting her elder sister_. Fighting for her sister's life. Being absolutely certain that both shinobi's attentions were solely on _her_, not out scouting for the missing heir.**

**"No," Kakashi spoke calmly through the obnoxious screaming.**

**"Our mission was to be a decoy and attract as much attention to the noble palace while our other teams zeroed in on the Tsuchikage. We're done here. We're pulling back."**

**"My mom is going to kill you both!" Neiada howled, tilting her head to try and bite her captor.**

**"She's going to come here with Katsuo and Lord Tsuchikage and she's going to kill _all _of you!"**

**The shadow user growled, shifting his hold on Neiada so that his arm was wrapped tightly around her neck. Her screaming did not falter. Elysia could feel her own eyes begining to moisten.**

_**"If we die here, we go down fighting, got it?"**_

_**"She is using the exact words I taught her... and those words are going to kill her."**_

**Her mind raced, trying to figure out a plan to retrieve her ignorant sister yet keep her own skin. No thoughts came to mind.**

_**"I am no shinobi... I am just a coward..."**_

**She watched as Neiada's voice slowly began to recede, her air being cut off by the shadow user's arm. Her screaming turned into choking, gasping, even. Neiada's dainty frame was not built for this kind of abuse. Elysia, slender as she was, would have fared much better than her little sister, almost half her size. The scenario of being alone arose in the noble's mind. Her mother, father, sister, and even Katsuo, as much as she claimed she hated him for making her listen, yet she loved him like her older brother, all _dead_.**

**Elysia sprinted off of the roof, pelting tiles and even throwing a bucket of adhesive, hoping her aim was good enough not to hit her sister. Even if her aim was off, a bump on the head was better than the alternative she faced. Unfortunately, the shadow user's instincts kicked in, and he initially registered Elysia as a threat, not a helpless child. His free hand grasped a fistful of Neiada's hair, twisting it in his fingers. Neiada inhaled sharply, and began to scream again. This time, her cries were more urgent. She screamed for her elder sister for the first time, begging her to run, to get away. Her cries broke Elysia's heart, and her throat burned ached with sobs she refused to let surface. With a sickening crack, the shadow user jerked Neiada's head to the side.**

**_Snap_.**

**Silence.**

**The shadow user, having surveyed Elysia thoroughly now, let the child slip from his grasp. He and Kakashi flitted away soundlessly, having heard the Stone reinforcements approaching, too little too late. Elysia drowned them all out, though, staring down at her motionless sister, numb with shock. She stood eerily still, silently willing her sister to to get up, as her throat seemed to have closed up completely. She'd pout, and kick up dirt because Elysia hadn't listened to her as usual, and they'd wrestle one another in the middle of the street until Katsuo ran up and pulled them off of each other and scolded them for their unladylike behavior. Then they'd go home and mother would boil them tea while she quietly reminiscenced with him of their days together as a team.**

The days to come would show her better.

Neiada was pronounced dead. Her neck had been broken at almost a complete one hundred and eighty degrees. Etsumi had been killed, as well as Katsuo. Both bodies were recovered in the gazebo. Her father lived, of course, having been the coward he was and leaving his family to protect his own skin by hiding behind the Tsuchikage. While the Leaf's decoy plot had been a roaring success, as patriotism soared at the news of the nobles being attacked and shinobi flocked to the palace to defend them, the teams attacking the Tsuchikage had ended in failure. The Leaf retreated hastily, but not before they landed a heavy blow to the Earth's defenses. Elysia served as a witness to watching the Stone bolster its defense incredibly. Months after the attack, people were executed as spies to the Leaf. There had been four in all, that the Stone village could uncover, anyways. Her father turned on the waterworks for the councils, and for the Kage and the rest of the public, but Elysia knew better. One look into his eyes, and she saw that he wasn't in the least affected by the countless deaths he'd been dealt. He'd never wanted to marry, especially not to a bull-headed woman like Elysia's mother, and he wanted _daughters _even less. His brother recently married, and now had a son. From that moment on, it was settled; Tyjumae's nephew Galein would inherit everything, and would become a lord himself when his father passed. Elysia, though the eldest of the noble offspring, had lost her usefulness when compared next to a _son_. She was no longer viewed as necessary to her heritage, but more as a decoration --no-- a _pawn _to be used as her village saw fit.

The Stone's war with the Leaf came to an abrupt end when the Chuunin Exams drew closer. The Sand village was to host the exams that particular year, and the Kazekage blatantly refused to admit applicants from either the Land of Fire or the Land of Earth if they were warring with one another, for fear that they would only bring their disputes to the attention of the other nations and start a large-scale war that no one wanted to participate in. So they drew up yet another treaty, their word even more fragile than the paper they wrote it upon. This peace, though built upon the most fragile of circumstances, proved to last the longest. Elysia largely contributed that aspect to the fact that the Tsuchikage died, and another, more peaceful and level-headed kage proceeded him. To her disgust, her father continued to weave his web of words, syncing them together perfectly to get the reaction he desired. He could bring a grown man to tears and make a placid housewife go on a rampage with her skillet brandished as dangerously as a kunai knife with the lies his tongue could spin. It made her nauseous each and every time she heard him lie so convincingly, to bring even himself to cry if it meant a better image for himself or getting what he wanted.

* * *

The hotel door softly swung open, and Elysia turned her back on the windowsill. Neji rolled her bag off of his shoulder, holding it out for her to retrieve. She relieved him of her possessions, and the Hyuuga jerked his head casually to her bed.

"You should get a good night's rest tonight. Tomorrow, we arrive in Shinobazu territory. I imagine that _you _will be one of the aspects most actively spoken of."

Elysia regarded him in silence, tossing her bag beside of the bed as she turned back to the window. Neji's hand hovered over the door handle, but before he could exit, she addressed him.

"Are you to retire to your room, or do you plan to join this village's festivities?"

"It's not my village. It isn't my place to join another village's celebrations."

"I see..."

She folded her hands together, laying them on the windowsill.

"I am not going to participate, and I don't see Shikamaru or Gaara going, either, but Sakura and Kakashi were planning on leaving soon, if you want to go with them."

It didn't come as a surprise to the noble that the Hyuuga knew of her parole. After all, Gaara had already spoken to the Leaf shinobi. He probably painted a clear picture for them on where he stood, as well as undoubtedly expressed his concern of the Stone.

_"Because I'm going to hold the Kazekage at knife-point in his sleep... If he even sleeps. As if _that _would work, especially when such a plan is executed by _me_."_

Her sarcastic thinking brought on the random desire to see the Kazekage's infamous sand in action, when she suddenly realized that Neji was leaving.

"When they leave, please ask them to take me with them," She beseeched so quickly, her speech was slurred.

But Neji must have understood her, for he nodded, quietly shutting the door behind him as he exited the room. Elysia couldn't help but be impressed with Neji, for barely three minutes had passed before Sakura was at the door, nearly beside herself with excitement. The noble could tell that the Jounin was trying to show restraint, but obviously, it was proving a difficult task for her.

"Neji said you wanted to come with Kakashi and I to tour the festival?"

Elysia nodded, which caused Sakura to beam.

"Great! The more the merrier, I say."

"Thank you."

A new figure lingered in their doorway, one hand stuffed casually in his pocket while the other held a bright teal book open. Sakura exhaled sharply in obvious agitation, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I hope you don't plan on reading _that _while you're out, Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't answer. He merely turned the page and kept reading. Elysia tilted her head, trying to get a good look at the cover of the book.

"I wonder... is that something I would read...?

For once, she realized, she didn't feel sick to her stomach standing there in the presence of this Jounin. She considered the possibility that maybe she'd finally gotten it out of her system in allowing herself to think about him and the role he had played for the first time in years.

"There are fireworks outside," He speculated, his eyes leaving the pages of his novel, traveling lazily to the open window.

A short gasp passed Sakura's lips, and she flitted to the window, her mouth agape in awe.

"It's been so long since I've seen fireworks," She commented softly, a smile playing across her lips.

"Not even when Naruto..."

Her voice trailed off, and a thoughtful look crept into her features. She turned to Kakashi, who was gazing back at her stoically. Only a moment passed that the two gazed at one another, but in that silence, Elysia felt that an understanding had passed between them. It seemed that the temperature had to have dropped at least a few degrees, but before the noble could think much of it, Sakura spoke.

"Well, we should get going soon. We can't stay out too long, because we have to get up early in the morning to continue to Shinobazu."

* * *

If there was anything that Elysia learned about Sakura, it was that she, like many other females she'd met, _never _turned down a compliment, and you _always _felt repercussions for speaking ill of her.

Sakura grinned, holding a pale green kimono with pink trim to her body. White flowers seemed to bloom right off of the fabric as she danced with the dress held firmly against her. Elysia clasped her hands together at her waist, nodding. Even Kakashi glanced up for a split moment to observe her style.

"It's very nice," He spoke, his eyes going back to the bookstore across the street.

Sakura had demanded that he put away his book for a while, and for whatever reason, as if he would otherwise violate some unspoken code, he obeyed. The shop owner, however, snorted. Her eyes snapped to him in a splint second, and Kakashi inched closer to the bookstore.

"Yeah, right. You don't have the figure to fill that out. Then again, not a whole lot of you kunoichi _do_."

The Jounin balled her hand tightly into a fist, slamming it down on the counter in front the man's face. He screamed, lurching back and out of the line of fire of the raining splinters of what used to be his stall. While he gaped up at her in horror, she flashed him a smug grin and laid the money to pay for the kimono in his lap. She began to fold the kimono, humming to herself. Elysia blinked, her head whipping around in circles trying to locate Kakashi. She knew she would find his company a bit safer than _hers_. Spotting him vanishing behind a sign in front of the bookstore, the noble followed him, determined to put as much space as possible between her and the walking time bomb.

The noble found him seated at a table, the teal book cracked open on the table's surface once again. Elysia joined him, sitting across from him as she pulled a fluorescent orange book from one of the nearby shelves. Kakashi's head slowly rose, and he seemed to pale as he registered the book in the noble's hands.

"I see you reading that series all the time, so I figured it must be very good to always have your undivided attention."

She brought the book to her chest and pointed at the title with a slender finger. Still, she recoiled at the name of the book.

"Make Out Paradise," She recited.

"That's the first one of the three, right?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied, his eyes glued to her as she spoke.

"But, don't you think those books are a bit _mature _for you, Lady Elysia?"

The noble bit down on the inside of her cheek, and began to chew on the sensitive flesh.

_"So, he_ does _know who I am..."_

Carefully, she pried open the cover, her eyes breaking their steady gaze as they fell to the first page.

"We're both adults, here. I'm sure I can handle it."

The Jounin didn't seem convinced, and studied her warily as she began to read, propping her elbow up onto the table. She turned the page, resting her chin in her palm. After her eyes shifted to page six, Kakashi finally resigned himself, and they sat reading their novels in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

Been a while since I updated, I know, sorry. Anyways, how've you guys all been? Any of you guys get hit by that snowstorm that hit recently within the past couple weeks? I hope not, because _I _got hit by that storm, and lost electricity for five days, and my water also went down the drain for three (Yes, that pun was completely intended). It's amazing how much we can take for granted, and don't realize the helpfulness of the small things in life. Came just in time for Christmas, and I only just got my internet back about an hour before I posted this here chapter. Speaking of which-- Merry Belated Christmas all, Happy Hanukkah to any Jewish people out there, and if you're Jehovah Witness, well... hope I don't offend? Seriously, though. This is my favorite time of year, as unoriginal as that may seem, but when you think about it... It's the only time you're guaranteed to spend quality time with family and/or loved ones, you give gifts to said people and watch with satisfaction as their eyes light up, and best of all, you get free stuff. I don't care who you are, you **do **like getting free stuff. It's not greed... Okay, maybe it is, but I still hope you guys had a good holiday. Lastly, if you never read anything I type up here, **please read **_**this**_. I recently got a review from a confused reader saying that the Hokage should be Tsunade, and not the currently anonymous "he" I've written about. I've already touched base on this once, but in case you missed it, in the anime, Tsunade falls into a coma. A man named Danzo takes her place as the Hokage. In this particular story of mine, neither Tsunade nor Danzo is the Hokage. The current Hokage of the Leaf is, however, going to be revealed in the chapter you're about to read. Although I haven't dropped many hints as to who it could be, I have given a few clues, and I'm sure some of you may have already picked up on it.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto has full rights to that. I also don't own the 70's band _War_. You'll see why I threw that in there.

* * *

"You won't beat me, assholes."

Todara chuckled lightly, peering at f through his thick lashes. Kankuro held his chin in his palm, his left eye squinted shut in frustration. Elysia leaned forward, her dark eyebrows arching, vanishing into her hairline. The puppeteer slapped down the cards in his hand, and Kiba's eyes narrowed, becoming slits as he glared at the hand. Kankuro had laid down a straight flush, blowing Kiba's flush out of the water, no pun intended. Curses spilled from his tongue, instantly infuriated by the cards that had beaten his own. Running a hand through his crop of brown hair, he threw his own cards across the table with such force that his hand sent the other cards and currency fluttering across the room. Kankuro howled with laughter, his left eye reopening again as his confidence began to grow. The curses that spewed from Kiba's mouth only intensified in magnitude at Kankuro's taunting laughter, stringing his words together with awe-inspiring expertise. Elysia bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes widening in shock. Never before had she ever heard anyone use such vulgar words in such _artistic _ways...

"Shut up, Kiba," Kankuro finally snickered, though his gaze flickered warily in Elysia's direction, as if he were afraid that her hearing Kiba cuss might have scarred her for life, or at the very least make her head explode. For someone who had always been so jittery around her, she'd noticed that he'd adopted something of a _protective _quality towards the noble. She expected that his sudden change in demeanor had something to do with Gaara. His crooked grin still lingered in her mind as he openly admitted he was no longer going to play hardball with her.

_"I am merely trying another, more _subtle _approach with you."_

More than likely, she surmised, whatever scheme the Kazekage had boiling inside that twisted head of his, he had already spoken to Kankuro and now had his elder brother to aid him in his plan.

Ignoring his apprehensive glances, Elysia turned her attention to Todara, the last to reveal his hand. The shinobi calmly laid his hand on top of the scattered pile, his dark eyes glinting with the amusement his lips failed to give way to. After a moment of silent suspense, he spread his cards out, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry to crush your dreams whole, Kankuro, my man, but... Royal flush, boys."

It was Kankuro's turn to swear obnoxiously, his eye squinting shut again as he sprang to his feet, knocking his chair to the floor. Already, he'd forgotten his silent vows of safeguarding the virginity of Elysia's ears. The other players around the table threw their heads back and roared with laughter, all at Kankuro's expense, while Elysia bit down even harder on her lip to keep herself from laughing at his crude attempts to rival Kiba's finesse with words.

"Dickhead," Kankuro concluded his rant, nodding angrily to himself as he leaned down to pick his chair back up.

He watched solemnly as Todara leaned forward and collected his winnings from the table and the floor, obviously pleased with himself.

"I'm sorry, Kankuro, my man. But you know how the saying goes... 'Don't hate the player; hate the game.' "

"But your smart ass attitude makes you easy to hate," Aramae pointed out, his coal-black eyes flickering with contained amusement. His Hidden Sand Headband barely served to keep his dark, wild hair out of his eyes. Aramae would have been extremely appealing to most women, were his constant lecherous remarks and roaming hands not a continuous deal-breaker. He shifted forward in his seat, pointing a slender, heavily tanned finger at the noble, who rose her brow at the gesture.

"You gonna play next round?" He questioned in a soft voice like velvet.

"No," Kankuro snapped quickly, barely giving the shinobi the chance to ask the question.

Elysia folded her hands on her lap, remaining politely silent. Although for the sake of her dignity, she wouldn't openly admit to it, she doubted she wanted to play _anything _with a group of ruthlessly crude-mouthed, glassy eyed men.

"Let the girl have some fun with us, Kankuro," Aramae pressed diligently.

"Nuh-uh. She doesn't have any money on her, and you wanna know who her debts will come back on?"

"Lord Gaara?" Aramae shot sarcastically.

Kankuro made a loud _bzzting _noise, like a buzzer off a game show, and a swift slashing motion across his throat with his index finger.

"Guess again."

"Well, I'm sure we could find other ways to make her work off her debts..."

Aramae's eyes rested on the noble once again, allowing a soft, strange smile to play across his lips. Almost instantly, Kiba's hand shot into the air.

"I second that emotion."

Elysia frowned, disgusted. Apparently, she wasn't the only one disturbed by such a suggestion, as Kankuro snorted his disapproval.

"Fuck that shit," He scoffed, and he began to collect the cards, flipping them right-side up into a single pile to shuffle them.

"I'm supposed to be taking care of her. I doubt that Gaara and Temari would appreciate it if I starting whoring her off to everybody and their mother."

"Oh, my mother won't want her," Aramae assured him.

Kankuro's lip curled back angrily, and his eye squint shut again.

"No means no," Elysia finally piped firmly in her own defense.

"So lay off, douche," Kankuro finished, passing the deck off to Kiba to shuffle.

"And what was that 'D' word you were throwing around earlier, ne, ass wipe?" Kiba retorted, splitting the deck in half.

"Dummy?" Aramae suggested with a chuckle.

"Douche?" Another Sand shinobi answered naively.

He was a young Chuunin, only in his teens, but extremely naive and lacking common sense, and probably hadn't gotten half of the conversation that had taken place. Staring Kiba down intently for an answer, he brushed his windswept blonde hair from his dark eyes.

"No, before that," Todara chimed.

"Oh... Dick?" The Sand ninja tried again hesitantly, the word falling awkwardly from his lips.

"Close, but no cigar."

"Dickhead!" Aramae finally chided.

"That's the one," Kiba snickered.

The Leaf shinobi began shuffling, not bothering to hide the periodic leer he tossed in the noble's direction. The glance never went unnoticed by Kankuro, who glared at the cards as they were dealt.

"Keep your eyes on your cards or you'll get your ass handed to you again, Kiba."

"Cockblock," Kiba retorted snidely.

Todara began to hum a tune that sounded suspiciously like, "Why can't we be friends?", until he was shushed by an irate Kiba. As if to rescue the noble, Temari opened the door, pouring light into the dim, musty room. Kankuro laid his cards face down on the table and straightened up at the sight of his elder sister.

"The meeting over yet?"

The wind user shook her head, her dark aqua eyes falling on Elysia.

"Not yet, but... all the confidential matters have been negotiated, and are over with..."

Elysia silently translated "confidential" to mean "Elysia-related".

"... and Tyjumae, the Lord of the Earth, has requested that if his daughter doesn't need to be shielded from the meeting any longer, then he'd like to see her."

Elysia was shocked with herself at the speed in which she sprang to her feet. Nodding, she stepped to Temari's side, who bid farwell to her brother before leading the noble to the place where the nobles and kages of three countries sat awaiting her arrival. The hall was almost blindingly bright, like stepping into a hospital ward. Although the halls were wide and spacious, they were sparsely decorated, without a painting or so much as a rug to cover the pale beige tile over which they walked.

Without warning, Temari stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to Elysia. The kunoichi halted so suddenly, the noble almost walked straight into her.

"Yes... Lady Temari?"

"Look, Elysia..." Temari began slowly.

She spoke as if unsure of what to say, or how to say it. Her eyes scanned the blank walls momentarily, averting the noble's gaze. But whatever was on her mind, her doubt got the best of her, shaking her head and waving for the noble to follow.

Whatever Elysia had expected when she stepped through the broad doubledoors leading into the meeting room, she could have safely agreed that it wasn't to be bowled over by a blonde haired, blue eyed male with a blinding white smile. The second she entered, a man clad in white and red robes pounced as if he'd been expecting her, despite the disapproving scowls cast by his council of elders behind him.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm the Hokage!" He chirped, a huge grin plastered on his face.

The noble got the feeling that this Naruto liked to often inform others, perhaps even remind those who already knew, of his prestigious title.

Elysia returned the smile politely, nodding as she contemplated the point of introducing herself, since she'd become such a celebrity amongst the villages of the Sand and Leaf. In the end, she decided that sticking to the polite side of the street might be safest for her.

"My name is Elysia. Nice to meet you, Lord Naruto."

Naruto beamed at her, and someone behind him coughed loudly. deliberately. He turned, and Elysia craned her neck to gaze over his shoulder. She couldn't tell which of the elders had vied for their attention, but that hardly mattered since they all looked highly irritated. Gaara rose to his feet, his eyes glued intently to Elysia. Their eyes locked, and the noble knew that "playtime" with the energetic Hokage was short-lived. Another man stood, and she broke her gaze with the Kazekage at the sudden motion. The man's long dark hair was tied back into the ponytail she recongnized so familiarly, and his blue eyes not unlike her own today had taken on a dreamy reminescent quality. He rose one of his arms and gestured for her to come to him. Her eyes narrowed, biting back on her tongue to supress several harsh potential greetings.

"Elysia," Tyjumae cooed, a light smiling creeping to his lips.

"So good to see you again, my girl."

To the lord's right, the Tsuchikage sat, eyeing her. A tall, slim man, he reminded Elysia strikingly of a fox with his sharp, narrow features. He studied her as if she were a peculiar insect that had stolen his momentary attention, and nothing more. She became aware that he was not the only one studying her every movement, that everyone in the room was awaiting her next action, from the way her fingers brushed the sleeve of her kimono to the cautious smiles she sent out to those closest to her.

Behind her, Temari gently prodded her elbow, urging her to move forward. Both Gaara and her father seemed to call to her with their eyes, demanding that she come to their side.

_"It's not "_father_", anymore. From now on, you are a resident of the Land of Wind, and it is Lord Tyjumae."_

His words firmly in mind, she took a step towards Gaara, only for her feet to change direction in midstep against her will.

_"Both my father and my country have disowned me... So why do I hesitate...?"_

Elysia tried to toss her thoughts out of her head, seeing as all that they were doing were impairing her movement, but she couldn't shake the feeling that wherever she drifted to would tip the scales of trust in this room. It was obvious that while the Earth had dismissed her physically, they still expected loyalty from her, as her father's forced loving gaze turned desperate. But the Sand village commanded her total attention as well, as it was all or nothing with the relentless Kazekage.

_"I have got to put up with Gaara for the rest of my life, now... If I turn my back on him now, he and Temari will never let me live it down..."_

She turned once again, and stood firmly next to Gaara, gazing over at him for his approval. His features remained stoic as he returned her gaze, but the smug glint in his eyes as he glanced back towards Tyjumae was unmistakable. The Earth lord's arm fell back to his side, his jaw clenched firmly, but Elysia got the confident feeling that life back in the Sand was going to get much easier to live for her.

"It looks like you and Lord Kazekage have grown quite close to one another, Elysia," The Tsuchikage observed when Tyjumae's voice failed him.

Elysia resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the idea of her and Gaara ever being "buddy-buddy" with one another, but Temari made her way into the conversation in her defense.

"You all know how she is discriminated in the Sand village," She defended boldly.

"How could she choose sides against the Sand, knowing how it could otherwise result?"

_"So I was right about them all anticipating where I would go," _Elysia mused bitterly.

Tyjumae seemed to consider this, and the rage he struggled to control seemed to dim. The Tsuchikage shrugged, but the cocky grin on his face never faltered.

Since the entire room now knew where she placed her "trust", her feet found their way to her father's side if for nothing else but for show.

"Lord Tyjumae," She addressed calmly, restraining the hostility from her tone as she had grown so accustomed to doing.

The lord of Earth Country responded by draping his arm around his daughter's shoulders, planting a quick kiss on her cheekbone just below her eye.

"We should have dinner together tonight, my angel, Lord Kazekage, you and I."

_"Like hell we should."_

"I do not see why not."

Her eyes found the Kazekage's again, cocking her head to the side questioningly. He gave her his assent with a curt nod, and the deal was sealed.

"I will leave you and Lord Kazekage to discuss the time, then."

"Excellent," Tyjumae piped, and his arm fell from her shoulders.

He turned to the man on his left, and a silent understanding passed between them as the elder nodded confidently. The old man rose to his feet and threw his arms into the air dramatically, turning to face the rest of the room.

"As for our new seafaring enemies! The Earth have already stationed troops in the Neck Country bordering the Leaf, our southernmost territory and the closest to Sea Country. At your request, we will board every last shinobi on ships and set sail to sink their miserable civilization to the bottom of the ocean!!"

Gaara nodded, bringing his hand to his chin.

"The Sand doesn't have a whole lot of technology when it comes to the sea," He admitted.

"That being the case, if you would lead that attack, and have the Leaf back you up..."

His eyes flitted to Naruto, silently asking his consent for the idea.

"That sounds like a good plan!"

The Hidden Leaf elders coughed and sputtered like rusted engines in the background, and Naruto shuffled his feet, his face flushing sheepishly.

"I, I mean... I'll talk it over with my council... and... we'll kinda get back to you."

"We will discuss possible courses of action independently amongst our respective countries, and meet back here in three hours," Sukuzi adjourned, peering cautiously around the room for any sign of disagreement.

There were dull murmurs of conversation as the elders and lords rose to their feet, excusing themselves from the room. The only kage to leave was the Tsuchikage, Tyjumae following closely on his heels without so much as a goodbye or fleeting glance to his daughter. Temari drifted to Elysia's side, and as another figure clad in all black approached them, she noticed that sometime during the meeting, Kankuro had slipped into the room. Naruto turned to Gaara, arching his brow as if in question. Gaara shrugged, tucking his blue and white hat under his arm as he moved to leave the room. A silly grin broke across the Hokage's face, and he accompanied Gaara as he left. Elysia watched them simply out of curiousity, noticing Gaara gradually begin to return Naruto's smile as Naruto began to rant about something, the only words she caught were "stale ramen" and "blasphlemy". The Kazekage's voice rang in her head, and a sudden realization struck her.

_"We would not have allied ourselves with you in the first place had the Leaf known nothing of this proposal."_

"Lord Gaara and Lord Naruto... They are good friends," Elysia mused aloud.

"The best," Kankuro agreed.

"That explains a lot..."

Temari jerked her chin upwards, peering down at Elysia with a modest interest.

"Really? Explains what?"

Elysia held a hand out in front of her, ticking the reasons off on her fingers as she spoke.

"Well, for one... Lord Kazekage informed the Hidden Leaf of my arrival before the Land of Earth was even informed that he had accepted such a proposal. I know this because that's what you were gone for... wasn't it, Temari?"

The noble stared pointedly at the kunoichi, her index finger risen into the air. Temari arched her brow at the princess, pursing her lips.

"Second, he relies completely on the Leaf to have his back and puts his village at risk with such negligence, and Lord Kazekage is such a thorough man, so that in itself is a testament to his trust... yet he doubts the Earth Country. He doubts me."

Elysia caught a flyaway lock of dark auburn hair between her index and middle fingers, tucking it carefully behind her ear.

"I'm not half as stupid as I look," She promised boldly.

She rose her pinkie finger to eye level, as if that might convince them.

"Honest."

Temari studied her a moment longer, before glancing over the noble's shoulder to gaze at her brother. Kankuro merely shook his head and shrugged, as if to say, _"I didn't say anything; don't look at me."_

Her eyes dropped back down to Elysia's stoic gaze.

"Wasn't expecting a formal dinner with these sticklers," Kankuro finally chimed, breaking the silence.

"Guess Temari will have to find you something fashionable to slap on for tonight, ne?"

He stared intently at Temari, who refused to meet his gaze. Elysia's lips twitched as they tried to sneer, but she quickly twisted the gesture into a smile.

"I guess so."

Kankuro tugged lightly on the hem of the noble's sleeve, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and towards the door.

"Why don't you go hang out with your old man for a little while? I'm sure he's really missed you. Temari will come find you when she's ready to go."

Supressing the urge to voice that she'd rather go back to the vulgar shinobi in the "poker room", she wordlessly nodded, obliging to seek out her father for some _bonding _time. The moment she was out of earshot, Kankuro grasped ahold of his elder sister's shoulders, jerking her to make her look him in the eyes.

"What?" She finally snapped irritably, shrugging out of his hold.

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"It's not like _you _said anything to her."

"Right. Like I was supposed to drop a bomb like that on her right in the middle of playing cards with my friends. The timing was _perfect_, I should add."

Temari sighed, scratching her head as her eyes dropped down to her feet.

"It's an awkward subject."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, feeling for once in his life like he was the more mature person between the two of them.

"Awkward, yeah, but it's not fair to her if you don't say anything. If she goes to dinner with her father and Gaara and it's brought up... without anything to soften the blow, she's going to shit a brick."

Temari set her jaw, the muscles clenching.

"I suppose you're right, Kankuro. I'll say something to her."

" 'atta girl, Temari."

He spun around on his heel, heading towards the exit.

"Hey, where are you going?" Temari demanded, starting after him.

"To finish my poker game," He scoffed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Where the hell else?"

* * *

"I like this one."

Elysia daintily held up a pale pink kimono with a white obi belt and a darker pink cord between her thumb and index finger, the robe itself covered in floral silver patterns and complete with frilly white collar and sleeves. The noble had noticed the kunoichi's increasing irritation with each dress Elysia had declined, and the fact that she had yet to partake in finding her own attire. She ran her fingers briskly through a rack of fancy, over-priced kimonos of the third store they had visited, and had plucked one out at random in an attempt to show Temari that she _was _in fact trying. However, her _brilliant _plan backfired miserably, as Temari's nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight of the wretched garmet. Instantly, her inner fashionista kicked into overdrive.

"Isn't there some rule against red-heads wearing pink?"

"Not that I am aware of. And just for the record, I am _not _a red-head, if you want to be technical. My hair is more dark reddish-orange than just red. Your _brother's _hair is red."

Temari rolled her eyes in exasperation, turning back to a rack of kimonos, flicking her fingers through the clothing as she expertly sought out her favorites. Elysia sighed, hanging the pink monstrosity back where she'd found it. She was almost relieved Temari had rejected it; on second thought, she wouldn't want to be caught _dead _in something that hideous.

"This one," Temari tried again, diligent in her efforts.

The kunoichi revealed a black kimono with a silver obi and gray cord. The robe was made of a material foreign to the noble, her eyes widening with wonder as she reached out to touch the flecks of white that glittered on the dress when shone beneath the light.

"What... is this _made _of?"

Temari chuckled softly, lifting the robe higher to cradle it flat against her arms.

"I take it you've never seen silk before?"

"...'Silk'?"

"That's what this material is."

Temari gently untied the obi, running her fingers over the white sheen of cloth inside.

"It's beautiful," Elysia breathed, stepping around the kunoichi to get a better look at the rest of the robe.

"Do they have this _'silk' _in the Sand?"

"All over the place. We get monthly imports of a lot of things from the Fire and River Countries, like silk and herbs."

"We must find more clothing made of this _'silk'_, Lady Temari."

Pleased with her venture, Temari promised that she would take her shopping for silk clothing once they got back to the Sand, and paid for the black kimono.

"We've still got some time to kill before Gaara and your father get out of that meeting, so why don't we go get some tea?"

Elysia practically skipped at the suggestion, restraining herself to merely a smile. However, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that whatever secret Kankuro and Gaara were keeping from her (one of the many, anyways), Temari was in on this particular secret as well. Temari had always regarded her coldly up until now, brushing her off and staring her down like she'd done her some personal wrong. And now suddenly, she, too, had changed her entire attitude towards the noble. It was completely out of character from what she'd been exposed to thus far, and it made her more than just a little suspicious.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Lady Temari."

The two females scanned the village for a shop that looked remotely like it could potentially sell tea. It didn't take long for Temari to spot one, and dragged the noble through the thin curtain doors. The shop wasn't anything impressive; small and shabby, it was all but deserted of civilians, which was exactly what Temari had hoped for.

"Tea for both of us, please," She requested to the waitress that approached them, heading for the table farthest to the door they had entered.

The waitress nodded, her close cropped brown hair swaying as she bowed politely before retreating back into the kitchen. Temari watched Elysia continue to swoon over the silk kimono through its plastic bag. Pursing her lips, she leaned forward as the waitress returned with their tea.

"Elysia..."

"Hmm?"

The noble's attention snapped back to her female companion, reaching for the sugar.

"I tried to tell you earlier about this, but..."

Elysia's fingers curled around the glass cup of sugar, pulling it slowly to her as her eyes flitted up to hold Temari's own. The kunoichi folded her hands in front of her, carefully beginning to phrase the words she'd recited in her head repeatedly for the past hour or so.

"I don't know if you'd heard anything about it, but Gaara's being hounded by the elders to marry soon."

The noble cringed, the thought of yet another woman in the palace-of-a-home walking around scowling at her already plaguing her.

"No, I hadn't heard anything about it."

She thought about her own question for a split second, before asking,

"Why are the elders "_hounding_" him over marriage? The Tsuchikage doesn't have to marry."

"The elders of the Sand are old-fashioned. They like to cling to their old traditions, and the old traditions say that a man who is married represents his devotion to unity and commitment, the same traits desirable of a proper Kazekage."

"I see..."

Temari bit down on her lip, before continuing,

"Gaara has already told Kankuro and I that as he cannot see himself marrying out of love, since there is no woman in his life that he does love, he would like to marry for political gain, or anything else that would be beneficial to him as Kazekage."

"Lord Kazekage is going to marry a noble, then," Elysia concluded.

"Yeah."

"Does he already have such a woman in mind?"

Temari smiled wryly, leaning back in her seat.

"You could say that."

Elysia poured a spoonful of sugar into her cup, trying to keep a frown from etching its way onto her face.

_"Selfish as it may be... Lord Kazekage's home will be much more crowded with another person... Not that one more would make much of a difference amidst what must be a hundred of the staff working there already..."_

"I presume the noble will be of the Hidden Sand?"

"The civilians of the Sand adore Gaara. Marrying a noble from his own village wouldn't do much for Gaara's political position at the moment."

Suddenly, the point Temari had aimed for hit Elysia force in all its horror. Her jaw dropped despite herself, and her hold on the cup of sugar failed her, clattering to the table as the sugar scattered across the table.

"No," She replied firmly, her hands balling themselves into fists.

"_Hell _no."

"You haven't even listened to his offer."

"I do not need to. I already told you my answer."

"Don't be that way. You wrote to your father about your desire to live easily in the Sand. This is one way to go about it."

"How do you know what I wrote to my father about?"

"Kankuro told me."

"Well, I would rather live my life being tormented."

Elysia's gaze had turned to steel, firm in her disposition.

_"The _nerve _of that bastard..."_

"Does he not have the stomach to come ask me himself?" She spat venomously.

"He didn't send me," Temari took the liberty of correcting.

"He planned to speak to you himself, only Kankuro and I agreed it would be best if you had some form of heads up so you weren't completely taken by surprise. Gaara's forte isn't women, and he wouldn't understand your hesitation."

Instantly, all of the questions Elysia had had pertaining to the Sand sibling's behaviour fell into place. The anger that Kankuro had displayed when his friends had turned lecherous on her which had confused her now made sense. Friends or not, Kankuro didn't want anybody hitting on the woman he thought would eventually be his little brother's wife. They were both being nice to her in high hopes that she would be their bargaining chip to be used against the council... and their future sister-in-law. For all she knew, that could have very well been the sole reason they'd accepted the proposal from the Earth Village. They could have set her up to judge her thoroughly by isolating her... and perhaps she'd just passed their sick test.

_"I am merely trying another, more _subtle _approach with you."_

_"Son of a..."_

Elysia began to chew angrily on the inside of her cheek, fidgeting with the hem of her kimono.

"What will be the consequences if I refuse to marry Gaara? Will you kill me off or something?"

Temari chuckled, her voice low and laden with her own concerns.

"Look, this idea was sheer genius. The council gets off Gaara's back; you are treated with some respect, otherwise the perpetrator faces Gaara's wrath. You're back to having your status of nobility again, instead of being just another resident of the Sand. Everybody wins. You aren't going to marry anyone else, anyways."

"And how do you know that?" Elysia demanded angrily.

"Lost distance relationships aren't worth the hassle, trust me on that one. Besides, no one in the Sand will look twice at you out of fear that you could be a spy. Even Kankuro got the shakes whenever you were near."

"And... me getting married to the Kazekage is supposed to remedy all of this paranoia?"

"Gaara has his _theories _concerning you. Marrying him will not only put a lot of civilians' minds at ease, but also let him keep a strict eye on you in case you _do _decide to do something. That supposed "trust" will be more than enough for most people, including the elders and the council, allowing you to live a comfortable life."

_"She has a very twisted idea of the concept of what it takes to be _comfortable_."_

"I am too young to marry."

"Stop changing the subject."

Elysia bit down even harder on the soft flesh of her cheek, and soon the coppery taste of blood began to leak onto her tongue.

"Tell me what you are going to do if I refuse. Kill me, kill my father, kill the innocents of Earth Country?"

"You have the mind of a sadist."

"I prefer to think of it as being prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best."

"You never struck me as a very optimistic person."

"Now who is changing the subject?"

Temari laughed darkly again, leaning forward in her seat. Clearing a small area of sugar, she placed her folded hands on the table.

"There won't be any murdering or torturing of any kind. The ceremony will be virtually painless."

" 'Virtually'?"

"Until the elders decide they want Gaara to have children. Which, mark my words, that day won't be far behind his marriage."

"Never," The noble seethed.

"Even if I _were _to marry him."

"It's all a package deal. It can't be helped."

Sighing, Temari began to dust the sugar off of the table, and into her awaiting palm at the edge of the table.

"I'm sorry about springing this up on you like this, really, but we're low on candidates. Gaara's very picky when it comes to women, and deciphering who would and wouldn't interfere with his title. You were the only person who really fit the description."

"Somehow, I am not honored."

"Please, just think about it, okay?" Temari pleaded, sprinkling the sugar into her untouched tea.

"Gaara won't be patient with you. He's just as nervous as you are about this."

Elysia snickered as she tried to picture the Kazekage cowering, suffering from cold-feet. The image failed to materialize.

"I highly doubt that."

"You don't know Gaara like Kankuro and I do."

"Exactly why I should not marry him."

Temari rose to her feet, slinging the kimono bag over her shoulder and abandoning her untouched tea. She laid down enough to cover the bill on the table. In a fit of stubbornness, Elysia remained seated, her arms folded tightly across her chest. The kunoichi scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"So, this is the real you showing, now, huh?" She retorted, returning the noble's harsh glare fearlessly.

"I knew you couldn't be the soft-spoken, spineless woman you made yourself out to be, then venture into the Sand village not knowing your fate. You're even more bull-headed than Kankuro."

"Sorry to have eluded you for so long."

"If you just took the time to think about it for a minute, you'd see our reasoning. Honestly, what else are you going to do with your life in the Sand? If you refuse, life will stay the same as it is now. What do you really have to lose?"

_"My dignity, not to mention eventually sleeping with a man I hardly know, all so that a bunch of old windbags can watch his spawn toddle around."_

"I would not expect you to understand, as you are not in such a position."

"You're right. I'm not in your position. But that doesn't mean I can't sympathize with you."

"Right. Sympathy... Something I really do not need from you or anyone else."

Temari threw her polite demeanor out the window, and grasped ahold Elysia's arm, pulling her to her feet and shoving the kimono bag at her chest.

"I'm not arguing with you anymore. Let's head back. After all, we still have to pretty you up for that dinner with your father and Gaara."

"Ughh... Please do not say his name ever again while you are within a twenty yard radius of me."

Heaving a sigh, Temari prodded Elysia towards the exit, walking on her heels as if the noble were a dangerous criminal who might make a break for it any second. Elysia desperately tried to plead her case again.

"Why can't Gaara just tell the old sticklers to screw off?"

"Because the elders would probably try and revoke his title."

"That's ridiculous," The noble pouted, glaring at the ground as she walked.

"Maybe so. But there's nothing we can do but marry him off."

"What are the chances that the elders will not want him to have children?"

Now that the shock of the whole ordeal had finally worn off, Elysia found herself actually considering marrying the Kazekage... So long as reproduction wasn't part of the equation.

"There isn't one. Gaara's sand-based abilities have always intrigued the councils, and to them, it's more or less an experiment to see if the genes he has are passed on through generations."

_"Damn it."_

"Then you already have my answer."

The kunoichi regarded Elysia carefully, pushing her forward when she tried to stop and talk.

"You could always just learn to love Gaara."

Elysia laughed, the gesture hollow and sarcastic.

_"Yes, and while we are busy falling madly in love with one another, the world will conveniently fall into place and World Hunger will forever cease."_

"I doubt that will ever happen."

"You never know," Temari pressed, her eyes scanning the horizon as the towering arch of the Joukaku building came into view in the distance.

_"Because of his tragic past and the way he lives his life, Gaara isn't the type of person who loves comes easily for... and neither am I."_

And then, in some strange, twisted way, the realization struck Elysia that perhaps that was the reason her and Gaara would be perfect for one another. They could both be married and yet at the same time live independently of one another. Since this was all his idea in the first place, he must have known _that_, too. An icy fist curled around her heart.

_"That means... He must know something about my mother and sister... How in the hell...?"_


	6. Chapter 6

Not much to say today, except for how glad I am that I was able to get this chapter up so early. I really knew what I wanted to do. I mean, really knew what I wanted to do. Hence, why it only took what, three, four days to write? I had a fourth of this written the same day I posted chapter five. But then again, I am going to have company all this next week, and then classes start back up for me after that, so I wanted to get this one out promptly in hopes that it might compensate for my absence for the next week or so while I get back into the swing of school. Also, I should add how you guys are so lucky I was able to tear myself away from Guitar Hero. I love that game, and it took a lot of work on my part to stop playing long enough to write this. Well... That could very well be the most random Author's Note I've posted for any story, _ever_. Ah well; I've said much, _much _stranger things before. Besides, I feel the need to say something to fill the blankness up here.

Oh, and as to Gaara... When I think of him interacting with women, I think, "zero finesse". No, actually, I think -30 finesse. I know different people envision people differently (take Elysia, for example)... But when it's an established character like Gaara, whose personality has been set into stone long before I started writing fanfiction, there's really very little leeway. Anyways... You'll see later why I threw this in here.

Lastly... Happy New Year!! Posted this new chapter here about an hour or so ago before the new year of 2010, and how beautiful it sounds. Twenty-ten... Have fun, drink a little bit if that's your thing (but don't get happy with it), and most of all, enjoy the new year, hmm?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto has full rights to that.

(Do I really need to post that disclaimer every single chapter, or have the past four chapters of saying the exact same thing given the insinuation that maybe I really **don't **own Naruto?)

* * *

It had been a long time since Elysia could have admitted to herself that she was actually a beautiful person. Then again, unlike most females she knew, she wasn't shallow enough to stand in front of a mirror for hours on end in order to get her hair to stay just the way she wanted it to (by now, she had come to the realization it wasn't going to do what she wanted, anyway) and to apply expensive paint to her face that would just wash off in a few hours. Usually, she labeled herself as _average_... not exceedingly gorgeous like her mother had been (her father's genes had made sure of that), but not painstakingly, carve-your-eyes-out-with-a-spoon hideous, either.

She generally contributed her appearance to her own carelessness-- she simply never really had reason nor motive to put effort into what she looked like. Typically, the noble threw her hair up nonchalantly into a mess of a ponytail, and threw on her attire completely at random, whether it matched or not. She had no one to impress with physical means, not in the Sand.

But today was different. The silk of the black kimono glided over her skin more easily than any other material she'd ever felt in her life. The sheer comfort made her wish all of her clothes were made like this. Temari had firmly insisted that Elysia have her hair fixed nicely and apply cosmetics for the dinner, but neither woman knew what to do in that department. The kunoichi retrieved women who did know what they were doing, and within the span of an hour, Elysia was jealous of herself.

"You look good," Temari complimented, nodding to herself and smiling at the handiwork as if she'd done it herself.

It was the biggest understatement of all time, she, Elysia and Kankuro all knew. Her dark auburn hair was pinned up on the back of her head, but it still managed to cascade in soft waves around her shoulders, framing her face delicately. The noble had never thought much of the "paint" most women used, but she was beginning to think twice now. One of the woman had persisted in applying a light blue powder-like substance to her eyelids, _eyeshadow_, she had called it, and Elysia was ready to fight with her for dominance over her own eyes, when Temari kindly explained that the powder didn't actually go _on _her eyes, but as a layer on the top of her eyelids. She was glad now that she let the woman work her magic, because to her, that's exactly what it was. Her blue eyes appeared even bluer than they'd ever been, and her lips were glossed with a very pale pink coat of what she thought of to be a cross between a liquid and a solid. A long, black, _unfriendly _looking contraption with bristles had also been taken to her eyelashes, but that took a long time to finally accomplish, as she kept "blinking prematurely", as the irritated stylist put it, which was apparently a bad thing. Elysia may have known nothing about cosmetics and hair stylings, but whatever those women had done to her in the past hour worked wonders for her self-esteem, which had taken its fair share of bruising as of late.

"Good?" Elysia questioned, allowing a satisfied smirk to cross her lips.

"I bet I look better than that girl from Tea Country who rated a twelve on a scale of one to ten, don't you think so, Kankuro?"

She'd meant only to tease him as she had a couple times before in the Hidden Sand, but instead of him rolling his eyes, scoffing, and retorting with a insulting remark, she got an unexpected result. A light pink blush flickered across Kankuro's cheeks, and his eyes shot up to the ceiling, where he began analyzing the cracks in the paint with firm diligence. Instead, it was Temari who gave the exact reaction the noble had expected from Kankuro.

"Don't let your head get so big."

"You are just jealous," The noble shot back playfully.

"I just think black is your color."

"I would bet that someone would be willing to look twice at me now," Elysia retorted boldly, picking up on Temari's irritation.

Rarely did she have a reason to flaunt herself, so when the opportunity arose, she wasn't going to pass up the chance to rub it in the faces of those who often got on her nerves; an unfortunate trait she possessed.

"I wouldn't," Kankuro chimed quietly, trying to help his sister's cause.

But his eyes remained glued to the ceiling, and he failed to convince anyone.

"You lie," Elysia pressed, grinning coyly.

The puppeteer remained silent, not daring to tear his eyes from the ceiling.

Temari was irritated with Elysia's lack of modesty, but her expression clearly displayed that no real damage had been done. She was smiling jovially, and for some reason that uneased Elysia. When she realized why the kunoichi's glee unnerved her, her heart skipped a beat out of sheer horror. Having been caught up in the single moment of glory given to her since she'd arrived in the Sand, Elysia had forgotten the whole reason Temari was fretting over her appearance.

_"So I will look attractive for Gaara."_

Shame filled her instantly, realizing that she'd so thoughtlessly allowed herself to be duped. Her eyes flitted to the bed beside of them, and she had the sudden impulse to pull the pillow off the bed, dump out the cushion inside and yank the pillowcase over her head. Before she had the chance to act upon the spontaneous urge, Temari was prodding her to her feet and ushering her out of the door.

"I think I forgot something in the room," She tried in a fit of desperation.

Temari merely laughed, and the sound was malicious and evil to the noble's ears.

"No you didn't. You don't need anything for a dinner; just yourself."

"What about a purse?"

"Purse?" Temari repeated, as if the word were foreign to her.

"You don't have a purse."

"I could, for all you know."

The kunoichi laughed again, and Elysia knew that she had no valid argument against her. She wished that it had been Kankuro that had escorted her to the restaurant; it wouldn't be hard to weasel away from him, when he was busy staring up at the sky. Unfortunately for her, Temari was far too clever to allow that. In a fraction of a second, the shinobi's mouth was next to her ear, and the closeness made the noble recoil instinctively.

"Look, Elysia... You can't let Gaara know that Kankuro and I told you about his plan to propose to you," Temari whispered.

_"Propose..."_ The word felt heavy and carried a sense of finality, even in her mind.

"Why not?"

"Because he'd already warned us to keep our mouths shut. We weren't supposed to say anything to you."

"So why _did _you?" Elysia snickered quietly.

"Because Kankuro and I both agreed that giving you a little heads up was more important than Gaara wanting to be normal man and _delightfully _surprising his new fiance by popping the question unexpectedly like he's seen in movies. He thinks that when he asks you, you're going to do exactly what the actresses he's seen all do, jump and down all happy and _squeal_. He doesn't understand that that doesn't always happen in real-life, and not every single woman would be willing to marry him spontaneously."

"So, I guess I owe you two a big thank you," Elysia added thoughtfully, trying without result to envision the twisted scenario that Gaara apparently pictured.

Temari grinned, straightening her back and giving Elysia back her personal space.

"And you can repay us by sparing our necks and not letting him figure out you knew."

Elysia brought her hand to her forehead in a silent salute, before turning to gawk at the building Temari had halted in front of.

"This is the place."

"This?" Elysia repeated incredulously.

"Are you sure this is a restaurant?"

The building loomed over everything else in the village, including the towering Joukaku building that had been their temporary quarters while in Shinobazu territory. It was styled in the likeness of a dark medieval fortress, and then there was a plain black sign hung outside with the hours in which they were open painted on in white. The place didn't even have a name, as far as she could tell. No name could give this powerful building justice anyways, the noble thought in awe.

"I'm sure," Temari chuckled softly.

"We went over its location a thousand times before the dinner's time was finalized."

Elysia allowed the conversation to drop, giving Temari the benefit of the doubt that she knew what she was talking about. In any case, the noble didn't have any complaints if Temari _was _wrong, and they spent the rest of the evening tearing the River Country apart trying to find the restaurant where Gaara and her father were waiting. Of course, since she had never had any luck whatsoever, as soon as they stepped inside, her father rose from his seat and waved them over to their table. Gaara sat across from him, and all that was visible of him from her angle was the back of his head. The moment he noticed Tyjumae stand, he turned, gazing at the females out of the corner of his eyes, before facing back around again. The interior of the place was much more archaic than the outside; relief sculptures of cherubs, beautiful men and women that she could only describe as various gods and goddesses lined the walls. A small orchestra played on stage a short distance to her left, and the dinning room alone was the sole biggest room she'd ever walked into in her life. The thought crossed her mind that maybe her father had overdone this one just a little bit, and merely being in the same room with such antiquated beauty made her feel under dressed. A waiter clad in the standardized black pants, white flared shirt and apron led Elysia to the table just as Temari excused herself and left, pursing her lips and giving the noble a deliberate nod. In the one gesture, Elysia understood the entire unspoken point the kunoichi wanted to make.

_"Act as if you're surprised he's asking, and whatever you do, do _not _say no."_

The waiter bowed politely as he reached the table with the noble, and she slid into the seat next to her father.

**"When you sit across from a man, it shows you have more interest in him than if you sit next to him," Temari had taught her.**

**"Why would I want him to think I'm interested in him?" Elysia had demanded.**

**"It does not matter anyways. I doubt he would even get the gesture. I know I would not notice it, and I am more romantically literate than he is."**

**"You also wouldn't be looking for signs of his attraction to you," Temari reminded her.**

**"You have to remember; he spent an entire day with Kankuro... **educating**... him, and you know that he, being one of the Sand's top flirts and a known skirt chaser, had to have taught Gaara **_**something**_**."**

The thought alone was enough to make Elysia not want to sit across from him, but she knew she had to go all the way in order to make Gaara think she wouldn't refuse him. As if to confirm her point, the young sand wielder stared her down, already analyzing her as if he were picking out the perfect piece of meat at the butcher. Every ripple that coursed through her tense muscles, every nervous twitch her fingers made, the Kazekage's keen eyes caught it all.

"Elysia," Tyjumae chimed as his daughter sat beside of him.

"How is life in the Hidden Sand village?"

"Hot," She answered dully, keeping the conversation neutral.

Tyjumae roared with laughter, and a smirk flickered across Gaara's lips. She was positive she was in the clear, until her father had to shine the limelight blindingly in her face.

"That could be taken in two different ways, my dear."

As corny and lame as the implication was, it still made her blood boil, her blush running down to her roots, and she stared at him with wide eyes the size of saucers, mortified. He held her gaze for a brief moment, winking at her as he reached for the stack of menus placed before them. In that instant, she knew that Gaara had already spoken to her father about the arranged marriage. Just as well, judging from her father's reaction, as the smile refused to vanish from his face, he either was extremely pleased, or extremely pissed and couldn't let the smile falter lest he give away his true feelings and throw bad relations into the already tense treaty the two countries shared. The same reason Gaara hadn't dared refuse making the dinner arrangements. It would have potentially been political suicide; something neither of them were willing to risk. Her gaze shifted to Gaara, who stared back at her stoically.

_"He does not get it."_

In an attempt to give the idea that she knew nothing of what was about to come, she quickly shook her head as if astonished by the idea. That in itself wasn't that hard a feat to accomplish, as she was already appalled that he'd been bold enough to say such a thing. Although saying that she was offended by the comment was a huge understatement, she didn't dare argue with him. It would pose more problems than she was willing to deal with at the moment, so she instead let the comment slide.

"Why did you pick this restaurant, father?" She tried again for neutral, polite conversation.

"It was a mutual decision between Lord Kazekage and I," The noble admitted, folding the menu back and gazing up at the waitress that stopped at their table.

After her eyes lingered on the young sand user a bit longer than necessary, she finally decided to include the father and daughter pair.

"Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Give us a few bottles of your finest sake!!" Tyjumae practically cheered brashly, and Elysia rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"We're all mature adults here; we can hold our alcohol!"

He offered Gaara a convincing smile, who resigned himself to a curt nod, folding his arms across his chest. The waitress nodded, jotting down on her pad of parchment before promising to return with the beverages and ducking into the kitchen before Elysia could call her back. Tyjumae clasped his hands together and laid them on the table, the stupid grin having yet to leave his face. Apparently, her father had forgotten that his daughter had next to zero tolerance for alcohol.

"You do not remember the last time I drank."

It had been a statement, not a question. Her father blinked back at her innocently, and the ordeal was settled.

_"He _doesn't _remember."_

The first time she had drank had been her last. It was when she had been seventeen. Galein, as she thought he would age to be, spoiled and pampered as he was, was the single most priggish boy she had ever met. He had only been ten years old at the time, but somehow, he'd managed to get his grubby paws on some of his father's finer wines while at the Chuunin Exams, hosted that particular year by the Land of Earth. The feudal lords had deserted their children, clumping them together with a couple shinobi while they ran off to do god knows what at god knows where. Galein had passed the bottle around, eagerly getting the other Noble's children (all females), and even the shinobi babysitters who were oh-so-devoted, drunk and a skunk. Only Elysia had refused, claiming that she didn't drink after others.

**"What a pansy," Galein had snorted.**

_**"Brat."**_

**"It is not being a pansy," She defended herself.**

**"It is giving a damn about personal hygiene."**

**He blinked at her, clueless. The child had no idea what the word "hygiene" meant, and much less cared. Tipping the bottle to his ruddy lips again, he smirked, and the alcohol spilled down his chin, dampening the front of his shirt.**

**"You're a damned chicken, Elysia. That's what it is."**

Not that he could've had any way of knowing, but being insulted, namely, called a chicken was one of Elysia's sensitive nerves. Refusing to be taunted by a child, she snatched the bottle out of his weak grasp and tilting it to her own lips, glaring furiously at him all the while, his dark green eyes widening in surprise as he watched her take the bait. He scratched at his blond hair with a heavily tanned hand, and laughed.

**"Hook, line and sinker,"** Were the last words she remembered hearing before everything went foggy and indistinct.

She couldn't recall anything that happened during her drunken state, but she _did _remember that when she could think halfway logically again, she was throwing up for hours on end and feeling like death was upon her the rest of the next day.

There was no way she was putting herself through _that _again.

_"I am ordering some tea or water or something non-alcoholic whenever that waitress comes back around,"_ The noble vowed silently.

"While we are waiting... Elysia, my angel, have you given any more thought to marriage?"

She allowed herself to scowl over in distaste at her father.

_"Sure did not waste any time on getting the ball rolling, did he...?"_

"In the _Sand_?" She grumbled, quietly wondering if he had suffered from brain damage while she had been away.

"No, I cannot say that I have... after all... I have devoted all my time to..."

Hesitating to ponder how to best form her words skillfully without making the Kazekage flip the table over on her in a fit anger, she finished,

"... fitting in. Marriage has not once crossed my mind."

She paused to glower at him, peering coldly at him through her newly thickened eyelashes.

"Why? I hope you are not trying to find me a suitor again. It did not work well when I was in Earth Country, much less while I remain in the Sand..."

Her father laughed giddily to himself, turning his attention to the back of the menus, devouring the desserts with his beady eyes. Elysia frowned, and if she hadn't already known about Gaara's intentions, she knew she would be on edge right now.

"What is going on?" She demanded, putting as much confusion and irritation into her tone as she could muster.

The noble was well aware it was a very bold move on her part, but already, she was ready for all this to be over.

_"And to think... we haven't even been served appetizers yet."_

"First, the crude innuendos, then the sake, now you've brought up marriage. Care to fill me in, father?"

"What's wrong with sake?" Tyjumae chortled, shaking his head.

"Nothing, for most. But when _you _drink sake, it is in celebration. You only drink sake when you celebrate... The Chuunin Examinations, noble birthdays... _weddings_."

"We are all alive and in good health. Isn't that cause enough for celebration?"

"Nice try."

She leaned towards her father deliberately. The noble had decided that Gaara knew she was an analytical person; she had demonstrated to him that she was observant, and paid careful attention to _everything _when under pressure. In his mind, she figured, it would seem even more suspicious to him if she were to remain innocently puzzled than anything else, when he knew by now how she acted. Her entire game plan switched in an instant, and she was sure it was going to save her-- and the other two Sand siblings'-- neck. The young Kazekage had remained silent the entire dinner; it was time to see if she could draw him out of hiding.

The two men exchanged glances with one another, and Gaara was almost instantly the one whose stoic demeanor caved first. When his eyes met hers, she noticed a good-natured look that had never been there before. His face was a mask of deadpan humor, but if the noble could believe it herself, she would have thought he was _laughing_.

The waitress returned, setting two bottles and three glasses in front of them. Elysia quickly captured her attention before she could run off again and asked for a glass of water. Nodding her head, the waitress inquired if they were ready to order or if they needed more time.

"I don't know about you two, but I want some of that delicious-looking sashimi," Tyjumae announced, eyeballing the picture on the front of the menu displaying said meat.

Elysia had yet to so much as glance at the menu, she realized, and unless Gaara had peeked at it before she'd arrived, neither had he. She quickly snatched up the menu and began to flip through it hastily. Luckily, the Kazekage decided to stall.

"Salted tongue."

Elysia nearly blurted her disgust aloud. She continued to skim the menu, albeit being distracted, the only "word" coming to her mind a repetitive "ew".

So much for buying time. The waitress had apparently been prompted to order such repulsive, slimy orders before, and nodded before turning to the noble.

"Kani-meshi," She decided after a moment's hesitation.

The waitress had ducked back into the kitchen before she knew it, and the noble's thoughts drifted to the food she'd spontaneously order. She never tried kani-meshi before, but her father didn't like it, so she figured _she_would. Tyjumae turned to Gaara, and if it was even possible, his grin seemed to broaden.

"How did the battle at the Temujin Shores play out? No casualties, I hope?"

"Do not change the subject!" Elysia snapped curtly, commanding his total attention.

It wasn't at all like her father to slip as casually as he had tonight. He was usually sly and deliberate; mistakes were practically nonexistent with him. Years of practice spinning lies to the councils and sweet-talking his way with other nations had made sure of that. Her brows furrowed, trying to understand why he was slipping now, of all times. His eyes darted to the Kazekage again before flitting back to meet his daughter's gaze. Then, it all seemed to fall into place.

_"He is trying to get Gaara to talk..."_

Gaara was obviously waiting for the opportune moment to spring the issue on her, but Tyjumae, his usually patient demeanor out the window on this matter, didn't share his sentiments. He knew she would pick up on his actions, so she grit her teeth together, and did the only thing she really could without arousing her father's suspicion as to why she hadn't gotten the hint yet, and rounded on Gaara.

"_You_ are in on this, too?" She demanded, weighing her words down with her own suspicion.

Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two of them. If Gaara was aggravated with Tyjumae's impatience, he didn't let it on. Elysia's water arrived, but she left it alone. The noble's father sudden remembered the bottles of sake, and poured a glass for himself and Gaara. Elysia was actually beginning to think that a little bit of alcohol was sounding better and better by the second, if it would take her far, far away on big, fluffy, _drunken_ clouds of intoxication.

"That is enough of keeping me out of the loop. Tell me what is going on, or..."

"Or _what_?" Tyjumae pressed.

It was difficult to tell whether he was pushing her buttons on purpose, as usual, or if he was stalling for time until Gaara decided to spill the beans. Most likely it was a little bit of both.

_"Or I will drink myself into a coma, and that will not be pretty, that is for sure."_

"... Or you'll turn me into a chronic alcoholic."

Tyjumae threw back his head and roared with laughter, but the humor finally vanished from Gaara's eyes as he stared back at her intimidatingly.

_"Oh, nice... Out of everything that has been said tonight, he gets pissed over _that_."_

She assumed the sand user really didn't like the idea of his prospect future wife frequently hitting the happy juice.

"What in God's name for?" Her father continued to josh in good-humor.

"Stress," Elysia concluded honestly.

"Have to cope with it one way or another."

"And you not knowing one _itty-bitty_ secret is throwing you into that much of a turmoil?"

He rose his fingers, pinching the air with his index finger and thumb for emphasis.

_"It would not be so _itty-bitty _if you knew that I know what your _itty-bitty _secret is."_

"I've never really enjoyed people keeping things from me, especially when they concern me."

"And how do you know our little secret has anything to do with you?"

"Because you two,"

The noble jerked her head in the direction of the Kazekage, offering him a brief glance,

"keep giving each other those strange looks, like you are trying to say something to one another, but cannot speak it aloud because it _does_ in fact concern me, does it not?"

Tyjumae chuckled, and Elysia was a bit disappointed that she hadn't managed to wipe the stupid smile from his face yet.

"My daughter is a clever one," He spoke as if she were not there.

"Clever, and witty. Perhaps a bit too much so, I've always thought..."

Elysia had half a mind to jump to her feet and yank him out of the booth. But she valued her pride and credibility (in front of the Kazekage, anyway) to do that in a crowded restaurant. No... Perhaps if he'd had the nerve to say something like that back home in the Souhon Capital, where she'd been born and raised and everyone knew her temper all too well, then, _maybe_...

"It's part of my initial charm," She resigned herself to replying, though she couldn't manage to keep bitterness from her voice.

"But... you will tell me this secret soon?"

"You have our word," Her father promised.

_"I am sure I do."_

Elysia made it a point to avoid the Kazekage's stare for fear he might see something in her eyes that she couldn't mask. The waitress returned with their dishes, and Tyjumae refused to allow silence fester at the table any longer.

"Lord Kazekage, you will be taking Elysia with you to the Chuunin Exams in the Hidden Leaf village coming up in... one week?"

"Five days," Gaara corrected in his low, raspy voice, speaking for the first time that night.

"Right... Well, you will be taking her with you?"

"Yes."

"Excellent!" Tyjumae practically hissed in his glee.

He allowed conversation to drop long enough to take a few bites of his meal. Elysia realized with satisfaction that her theory that her father was intentional acting skittish and blunt out of his impatience was correct, as she kept a close eye on him. His eyes never rose up to the Kazekage once since she'd pointed out her suspicion.

_"I know him far better than I would like to."_

"What do you think of the Kazekage's siblings?"

Elysia almost laughed at the question. It didn't matter what she thought of them; even if she hated their guts, or even moderately disliked them, she couldn't voice as much, not with Gaara sitting right there, picking apart her every word and action. Surely her father knew that...

_"Maybe it is already time for him to lay off the sake..."_

"They are good people. Very protective of Lord Kazekage."

"Naturally... Although, I hear that wasn't _always_ the case."

Elysia's eyes widened in horror at her father's words, and her head shot up to see what Gaara's reaction to the feudal lord's brash comment would be. As usual, he didn't seem phased in the least.

"It's good to know that people can change for the better... Even if that someone is a monster, who has little to no regard for the lives of others, although I suppose, being the Kazekage, he has to care somewhat for his people, but honestly, I have no idea what your council of elders were thinking, Lord Kazekage, and yet..."

His voice trailed off, and her father's heartless words were like a red flag to a bull; anger sparked in Elysia's chest, tuning him out to watch Gaara sit and be called a beast. Although his jaw clenched at the word _monster_, he seemed indifferent to the ridicule, even watching the lord intently as he spoke.

"That is enough," Elysia interrupted coldly, her lips curling back over her teeth in anger.

"You are completely out of line, _fool_."

She reached for his alcohol to take it away from her father, when she caught Gaara's amused glance. She distantly heard her father's shocked, yet fascinated laughter. Realizing what had happened, she bit down on the inside of her cheek, drawing fresh blood into her mouth from where the wound had not completely healed from earlier. All of her restraint left her, and she swatted the open bottle onto her father's lap, dousing him with the rice wine. She rose to her feet, not even bothering to cast either one hateful glances. She just wanted to get away from them both.

"Where do you think you're going?" Her father demanded, dabbing at his clothes with a napkin.

To her dismay, the smile had not left his face, and he was still chuckling to himself.

"I refuse to stay here and endure the likes of either of you toying with me."

"She has such a feisty temper," Tyjumae chortled to Gaara.

Elysia thrust open the front door of the restaurant, and took a deep breath of the fresh night air, cool and full of relief against her flushed skin. She clung to the walls of the buildings as she weaved through the village, hoping the shadows might offer some cover.

_"What if he comes after me...?"_

She knew better than to expect her father to chase after her, but the Kazekage might return for her. If that happened, he was most likely to take her back to the restaurant. It wasn't like she could fight him off; she would end up going back to the restaurant, and she would like it. He would seek her out if she returned to their quarters, and she would end up going back anyways. She could hide, but he was a shinobi, and it wouldn't take long for him to find her. There was no way she could elude him; it was only a matter of how long he decided to let her run around in the dark.

_"Or maybe... he won't come at all..."_

No, she decided almost immediately. The Kazekage would not let _that _go on, when he refused to so much as let her roam the halls of the Sand castle-like-home alone, let alone another village. She could barely form the question of where, then, she should she go, as her anger clouded her logical thought process.

_"I should have known,"_ She reprimanded herself.

_"My father was acting strange... I caught him the first time, so why could I not figure it out the second...?"_

The ground beneath her began to shift unnaturally as she walked, and she froze instantly. Her heart pounding in her ears, she cast her eyes down to confirm her fears of what she thought the irregular movement to have been.

_"Sand..."_

The sand curled around her bare toes, even leaping up once to lick gently at her fingers. She recoiled at the taunt, folding her arms firmly across her chest. Elysia had never seen his sand "in action" before, and had it not been for her anger, she might have been willing to admit that it was enchanting; beautiful, even.

"You are an infuriating bastard," She informed him coldly, before adding,

"You _both _are."

He remained silent, but she knew he was there, somewhere. She couldn't hear or see him, and yet the sand couldn't move this unnaturally of its own accord. She watched the sand writhe around her feet in soft ripples, never going any higher than her ankles.

"I will have you know, it is some way of repaying someone who has defended you. I will never do it again, seeing how you are so ungrateful."

A quiet sound strikingly similar to that of laughter reached her ears, and she ground her teeth together in frustration.

"Don't worry," He reassured her, and the noble could hear the amusement in his tone.

"The day won't come."

She knew he was right. If he and her father hadn't schemed together against her, her father never would have made the comments he had, and on the off chance that he had, the Kazekage would have been quick about putting him in his place. She had been playing her cards flawlessly up until then. Two dead giveaways that she had been walking right into the palms of their hands...

"I am going back to the quarters."

Faster than the blink of an eye, the sand poured over her feet, cementing her into place. She winced; it wasn't a painful feeling, but the movement had been unexpected. The noble didn't bother struggling against her shackles; she'd heard stories of grown shinobi who had never been able to escape from a child's grasp over the sand. Angrily, she translated his gesture to,

_"Stay here and chew me out some more."_

She twisted her body around to find him kneeling on the roof of the shop behind her. His gourd was propped upright, his hand balancing the container where its cork should have been.

"What the hell are you playing at?" She spat furiously, glaring at him.

"You let me go _now_, do you hear me?"

Gaara returned her savage glare apathetically. Before her eyes, he disintegrated into sand, yet the hold he had on her feet remained firm. Something shifted behind her, and she turned back around just in time to see him rematerialize inches from her. Had he not been a shinobi, much less the Kazekage, she would have tried to take a swing at him. His lips twitched, forming silent words he failed to speak aloud. She watched him in silence, trying to catch some of the words she knew were seconds from being spoken, expecting some snide, berating comment to come forth from his mouth and insult her like a slap in the face.

"What?" She snapped, her temper having been long lost.

"Speak."

He blinked at her, his tongue flicking across his lips, moistening them in preparation for his next sentence.

"Marry me."

A choked sound like a cross between a laugh and a sob escaped from Elysia's lips. She had spent the most of the night wondering when he would bring the subject up, and when he finally did, pretending to be shocked wasn't a very hard task to pull of. It hadn't even been phrased as a question.

"What?" She asked instinctively, her voice soft and low.

The sand wielder repeated himself patiently.

"Marry me."

Elysia's stomach plummeted into her knees, staring at him stupidly with her mouth agape. She felt the sand unwind itself from her feet, freeing her, but she couldn't convince herself to move. Not only would it have been pointless, as his sand would only catch ahold of her again if she had tried to make a break for it, but her brain didn't seem to be registering much of anything at the moment.

"Is that how you always settle an argument?" She heard herself murmuring.

His brows furrowed, perplexed. Elysia had no idea how she'd managed to get her voice box to activate to ask such a retarded question, but she was afraid it wasn't doing any encores anytime soon, as it swelled shut.

**"Gaara's forte isn't women, and he wouldn't understand your hesitation,"**Temari's voice suddenly reminded her.

She shook her head lightly, shaking the kunoichi's voice out with it. Regardless of Temari's explanation, she wanted to hear his reasoning from the man himself.

"Why in God's name would _you _want _me_?" She asked a little bit more sarcastically than she'd intended.

She coughed softly to clear her throat of the evil sarcasm plaguing her tone.

"You and I do not even get along."

"You stood up to your father for me."

Suddenly, Elysia's voice found her once again, and so did her anger.

"Yeah, which was a big mistake, and also what started this argument in the first place!"

"We are arguing?" Gaara muttered softly, genuinely curious.

Elysia's hands went to her hair and yanked, her beautiful hair style now a figment of her imagination. She felt like screaming, but didn't want everyone and their mother stopping to gawk at the crazy angry lady and her deranged, oblivious companion. The Kazekage suddenly blinked rapidly, as if something had just occurred to him or if he was remembering something important. His gaze rose and focused on a spot over her shoulder in the distance.

"You are a very foxy bitch," He revealed, his voice monotone as if reciting something.

The noble's jaw clenched, and her hands abandoned her now disheveled hair, placing them on her hips.

"with an enticing shape."

His eyes dropped down to hold hers, and the corners of his lips turned upwards, obviously pleased with himself.

"If we were not fighting a minute ago, we sure as hell are now."

Gaara's smugness was wiped from his face in an instant, and he frowned, his brows furrowing in disappointment.

"Did Kankuro teach you that?" Elysia grumbled, remembering what Temari had said about Gaara having spent some quality _bonding_ time with his elder brother.

Gaara nodded slowly, still disgruntled that his ace in the hole had not worked on her the way he had been promised it would.

"Do you even know what you just said?"

"He had promised it was flattering," He confided as he shook his head solemnly, his dissatisfaction evident in his voice.

He began to glare angrily at the building beside of them.

"You just called me an attractive dog with a seductive form."

Gaara's nose wrinkled in disgust, gazing back into her amused eyes.

"So, a bitch is..."

"A female dog," Elysia concluded.

Gaara's disgust heightened, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"So, why in the hell would Kankuro be led to believe that is a compliment to women?"

Elysia shrugged, and she noted that her anger was, once again, nonexistent in the face of his placidity.

"To some women, it _is _a compliment. But only when you say it right."

"There is a right way to call a woman a dog?" He grumbled, unconvinced.

Elysia laughed, something she realized had been far too long since she'd actually done.

"No," She admitted,

"But..."

She shook her head, at a loss for words, and called it quits.

"Honestly, I do not know why some women take the term without complaint. Personally, I do not like it at all, and will not tolerate being called such."

She stared pointedly at the Kazekage, who gazed back at her in confusion.

"I didn't--"

"You are good for one warning, Lord Kazekage. After this, you will not be exempt."

He nodded, and Elysia smirked, noticing how attentive he was, seeming to cling to her every word as if her words were like the lifeblood. It reminded her of the curious, confused Kazekage she'd first seen in his office her first night in the Sand when she had approached him about decorating her room.

As if he had read her mind, that seemingly preferable side of him was gone in an instant.

"You still have yet to answer me," He informed her, all business.

"You never _asked _me anything," She pointed out, earning her a sharp glare.

"And _you _never answered _mine_."

He was silent a moment, and it quickly became clear that he probably had no intention of answering her, either. She decided to press the issue with him.

"I know you cannot love me. You barely respect me as a human being. So, why would you want to marry me?"

"The council insists that I _must _have a bride chosen by the end of the year," He blurted, appearing to the noble to be flustered for the first time since she had met him.

"Since I cannot marry out of love... I wanted to marry you, because then not only would relations with _our _countries solidify, but the ties we have with the Leaf, as well as the ties you share with them, would also strengthen. The Tsuchikage has already agreed that if I marry you, he will gladly accept the Leaf's proposal of alliance, and we will share a triangular-trade that, built upon such a promising foundation, will be very likely to stand through years to come... All of our villages will flourish, not to mention win this war, seeing how its end is far past due."

"I see..."

_"It is, more or less, just as Temari said..."_

Gaara stood, staring Elysia down with intense eyes.

_"My father and the Tsuchikage... they have already taken advantage of my situation..."_

"I give you my word... that I will think these matters over," Elysia promised, her head bowed in thought.

"You will have your answer by the time that we leave for the Chuunin Examinations."

Gaara pursed his lips, and at first it appeared he would try to argue with her, but slowly resigned himself over to her request.

"That is acceptable. Both the Hokage and Tsuchikage will be aware of your decision immediately that way."

"I just have one last question."

Gaara inclined his head to show that he was listening.

"If our... _marriage_, is to be arranged merely for politics, then why bother going to Kankuro for advice on women?"

The red head had barely reacted to the question, and yet Elysia could tell that he was uncomfortable with the subject, most likely because of the awkwardness it had surfaced the last time he tried talk about it from the distressed look in his eyes.

"We should head back to our quarters," He murmured, turning as he motioned for Elysia to follow.

"Wait, we are not going back to the restaurant?"

"I dismissed your father."

"Why did you do that?"

"I figured you were angry with him for his crude remarks, and didn't want to have to make you deal with him again."

"Angry with _him_?" The noble retorted, though she was pleased to hear that he had taken the liberty to get rid of her father.

Gaara stopped, turning to face Elysia.

"Would you rather go again tomorrow night, or--?"

"No, no, I am fine, Lord Kazekage."

"Good. Now, _come_."

* * *

(Three cheers for the longest chapter I've written yet, with a word count of 8,265!!) My god...


	7. Chapter 7

Ha ha ha, I _loved _writing this chapter!! I've been trying to not drag out the plot; I'd rather not have twenty-six chapters of pointlessness, then look back and wonder where my story went to. There is, as I have come to learn, a thin line between sticking to the plot at hand and then senseless drabble. It's a thin line to walk, but mine to travel nonetheless. Aha ha ha. Man, do I _love _this job. Just as well, I've been getting out chapters really quickly, eh? Me bein' a good writer, right? So, shouldn't that call for more reviews?! (coughhinthintcough) Ehe he he... Sorry, but shamelessly, as it is for most, it's my fuel, too.

* * *

The next few days seemed to fly by at an ungodly fast rate. Elysia blamed this on the fact that the sand in her hourglass was quickly emptying, and the River Country would be behind her come tomorrow morning. She was running out of time to give the Kazekage her answer, which at the moment for her, was an impossible and quite literally unspeakable feat since she herself had yet to sum up the courage to approach him with an answer to offer him.

If she had any good news, it was that she finally felt as if she had taken the first step in bonding with two of the sand siblings. Temari had taken her on some last minute silk-hunting raids, and Kankuro had taught her a few things. Two things, actually; for one, she now knew how poker worked. She'd picked up the gist of the game watching the Sand and Leaf pit their mettle against one another, always ending in a loud and and obnoxious swearing match where anything goes; from insulting one anothers' dead parents to accusing the nin-kin of being a hooker and claiming he saw the dog on the corner of a street. At this, Kankuro, the culprit behind the senseless joke, was cracking up until Kiba lunged across the table with a battle cry in an attempt to strangle him and, "make him take it back". Usually, however, the hands ended without bloodshed, although once, Sakura had decided to join in on a couple games out of boredom. Thinking he was clever enough to get away with it, Aramae took the opportunity to stack the deck in his favor while she was busy swooning over him, taking advantage of her flirtations. Finally, after the third hand in a row he'd lost, Kankuro threw down his cards and threatened to be out for good if the "flirty bastard" won one more hand. Struck with a sudden stroke of wisdom, Todara promptly jerked the entire deck out of Aramae's hands, and observed the cards as he had been about to deal. The very first two cards that would have been dealt to Aramae were two aces, and Todara shook his head, not needing to look at the rest, his long windswept hair tossed around his face.

"False shuffling... Not cool, my man."

Sakura didn't try to kill him over cheating, but she did stop flirting with him. The other players around the table were not as generous as she. Outnumbered five to one, he in fact _did _start to bleed, and sat out the rest of the games for his stay in Shinobazu Territory out of terror that they would insist on round two, though not before he paid back all the money he had won through means of cheating.

"Plus interest and an inconvenience fee," Kiba and Kankuro had invented, slapping high fives at their "luck".

Still, Kankuro refused to let Elysia partake in any card games more extreme than Go Fish or Uno.

"They're ruthless," He explained solemnly.

"They'll rip out your soul and resell it on the black market."

"And you are friends with such heathens?" She had laughed, until she got a look at the dead serious expression etched onto Kankuro's features. Her giggles receded, furrowing her brow at his unusual seriousness.

"I'm one of those heathens," He admitted, unashamed as he flashed her a devious smile.

"I'd take your soul, too, but then Gaara would flush _my _soul out of my ass and turn it into something like one of those balloon poodles for ruining foreign relations and selling off his fiance for profit. So, honestly, I'm actually protecting you from me, while I cover my own ass, you get my drift?"

In all honesty, she had not gotten his drift at all, but what he had said was frightening enough to make her want to avoid poker games for a little while nonetheless.

Both Kankuro and Temari were bad about already considering Elysia their sister-in-law and Gaara's wife/fiance, despite the fact the noble had tried to make it crystal clear that she had not made up her mind yet. The "groom-to-be" wasn't much of a help, either; the sly grin that crossed his face every time she tried to bring the matter to his attention made it apparent that he wasn't going to help her because he himself was enjoying it too much. As far as he was concerned, his siblings' assumptions were merely the last push that she needed to jump aboard the marriage boat. After two days without result, the noble had simply given in to the petty battle.

The second thing Kankuro had taught the noble was how to drink, and also how _not _to drink.

"I was not aware there were techniques to drinking alcohol," She had admitted skeptically.

"You don't know a lot of shit I know," He laughed, slapping his trademark black hood onto his head.

"I also know recipes that help prevent hangovers. Well, not exactly remedies... more like... I know what to take care of what shit. Of course, the stronger the alcohol, the stronger the remedy, too."

"Now _that_ iswhat I need," Elysia mused, not realizing she had spoken it aloud until Kankuro was dabbing at his eyes with the hem of his shirt while he shook with laughter.

"Practice round one," The puppeteer chimed, and emptied the shot glass to his lips.

Elysia frowned at the amber liquid, leaning forward to sniff it as Kankuro downed his second. She recoiled in disgust at the odor, sticking her tongue out at the beverage for an unnecessary added effect.

"Don't worry; when I see you getting tipsy, I'll take it from you," Kankuro had assured her, misinterpreting her hesitation.

"A few more shots of _that _crap, and I doubt you will be taking anything from anybody," She grumbled under her breath.

The noble watched in fascination as Kankuro downed glass after glass of the stuff, and though it was much more than just a few, she had proven herself to be right; Kankuro wasn't taking anything from anyone soon. He couldn't even take himself from his bar stool without walking in circles around it first before stumbling into a giggling heap on the floor. She sighed, but couldn't help but laugh at the mess he had turned himself into, and on _her _watch, too. With Gaara and Temari attending the seemingly endless war meetings, where neither Elysia nor Kankuro were needed, that had left the puppeteer official babysitter by default. Elysia had tried to lighten the burden he considered dreadful by developing an interest in the things he liked, and it had helped them bond a bit, but if she brought him back to the Joukaku like _this_, she would never see Kankuro ever again, because he'd be buried twenty-some feet under sand. So, she managed to get the drunkard on his feet, pulling his arm around her shoulders, and hauled him back to the Joukaku building. Since she didn't have the slightest idea where Kankuro's room was, she had dragged him to her own room, shoving him into the couch in the living. She rotated her arm in circles, trying to rub the painful stretched-out feeling out of it that practically carrying a twenty-two year old man had brought on.

"Go to sleep," She had commanded sternly.

For a while, all the shinobi did was lay on his back and giggle at the noble stupidly, trying to shove one of his legs underneath a couch cushion.

"Go to sleep!" The noble repeated, placing more urgency into her tone.

"Before Gaara and Temari come here, find you drunk off your rocker and kill you!"

Despite being three sheets to the wind, he seemed to have understood his dire predicament at her words, and laid his head back on the arm of the couch, slowly closing his eyes. The lights were out on him in a matter of minutes. Elysia allowed herself to relax once she was positive Kankuro was really asleep, slipping her fingers into his pockets with lithe expertise. They found the smooth, jagged teeth of a key, and she retrieved it before depositing it into her open-toed shoes, just beneath her heel. Feeling like quite the sharp ninja herself, she plopped into a dark blue sofa chair adjacent to the couch, breaking open Temari's novel she had completed only a week ago.

_"One week..."_

So much had happened so fast. Her fingers curled around the spine of the book, as her mind drifted to what inevitably almost always did anymore. She leaned back in the chair, eyeing the ceiling nonchalantly as she brought the book to her chest. The noble was well aware that the moment the words had left Temari's lips, she never had a chance of refusing the Kazekage. He had known that; he had to have, otherwise he never would have humored her and allowed her the reprieve he had given her, aware that there had only been one choice for her. The sand siblings could promise anything they wanted, and the noble could deny it to her heart's content, but the simple fact remained that they did, in fact, have her cornered. Her life in the Sand had been nothing short of cold isolation; detainment.

_"What if I _were _to say no?"_

She already knew the answer to that. Her prison sentence would be turned into a hell on Earth. Things could get _much _worse for her, she knew, and they _would _if she declined. From the moment she had requested the time to "think", she had already known that there was nothing to think about; no options to weigh. She had only meant to appease her own denial.

* * *

Just like the past few days had, the night quickly encroached on her, and exactly as she had expected they would, one of Kankuro's siblings came looking for him.

A loud knock pierced the noble's own slumber, having dozed off with the novel flattened against her chest. A quick survey of her surroundings implied to her that no one had disturbed the room, and that Kankuro remained dead to the world, although his peaceful sleep had transformed into a loud, boisterous snoring. Whomever was at the door grew impatient, knocking again before Elysia had time to rise to her feet.

_"Temari,"_She guessed, seeing how the knocker had taken the more civil route, whereas a certain red head the noble knew probably would have had the audacity to use the Body Flicker technique she'd witnessed shinobi use hundreds of times in order to get inside her room.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she opened the door, her head automatically rising to meet the eyes of said kunoichi.

"Kankuro in there with you?" Temari inquired, already craning her neck to scan the room over Elysia.

She couldn't catch a glimpse of him, but the answer to her question was validated when the women heard a staggered snore emit from the sofa. Temari shook her head, disapproving.

"I know what you must be doing," She scolded the noble,

"And I appreciate the token, but don't cover for my brother's stupid mistakes."

The noble bit her tongue, holding sarcastic comments at bay as she suppressed a grin.

_"Which brother are we talking about here?"_

"I do not know what you mean."

The blond sighed, brushing past Elysia and circling the couch, kneeling at her brother's side. Her hand fished through first his left pocket, and then his right, her brow creasing when she came up empty handed. She straightened her back, turning to the noble, and Elysia tried to read her strange expression while managing to keep her own face innocently blank.

Temari held her hand out expectantly, and Elysia arched her brow at the gesture.

"Give it here."

"Give you _what_?"

"You were clever to think ahead, but not far enough ahead. Kankuro had arranged for some hired hands to clean his personal quarters today; he left his door unlocked."

Elysia silently blanched at the sudden unexpected revelation.

"If he were going to just take an innocent nap, he would have went to his room after dumping you off on someone else. Seeing as how he's here, alone with you, tells me that you brought him here, which means he was somehow impaired, and couldn't go to his room, since he never would have come to your quarters given the indecency of it."

The noble shuddered, frowning at the implication.

"I would not have--"

"Neither would Kankuro, but he's already voiced his skittish thoughts about it. He's wary about it, and with a mind like his, you know it would make him uncomfortable. That's why whenever he's watched you, it's always been with his friends, or out in public."

"Ew..."

The noble wrinkled her nose in disgust. Temari rolled her eyes, flexing her outstretched fingers swiftly. Elysia hesitantly obliged, digging into her sandal to retrieve the key.

"You have a lot to learn about the minds of men, though you may not have your work cut out for you as much, since it's Gaara you're marrying."

Elysia cringed, pursing her lips.

"Forget _that_. I am still trying to figure out the minds of women..."

Temari chuckled, and the noble's chest fluttered at the joyous sound, realizing that it was the first time the kunoichi had laughed _with _her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Gaara that Kankuro was stupid enough to let himself get drunk while watching you," Temari added as an afterthought,

"But I _will _if he does it again. You let him know that."

"Would... would Gaara get angry?"

"Do you want to find out?"

The noble quickly shook her head _no_, wordlessly handing Kankuro's room key to Temari. She returned to her knees, slipping it into his pocket.

"When he wakes up, tell him to pull himself together and get his things packed. Tomorrow, we leave for the Hidden Leaf. You should get your stuff around, too."

Elysia's heart skipped a beat at the creeping reminder. Tomorrow, before they left Shinobazu, she would finally have to lock away her pride, and agree to marry Gaara.

* * *

Temari's departure left Elysia in silence, but it was short-lived. Before long, Kankuro had awoken, and the sight was _not _pretty, nor was the sound.

"Bouillon!!" Kankuro whined, holding his throbbing head.

He had managed to sit himself into an upright position, cradling his aching cranium in his hands. The puppeteer doubled over on the couch, pinching his head between his knees as he gripped at his hair.

"I need some of that bouillon soup shit!"

The every-other-word foul language that he typically only used while arguing or playing poker had surfaced, and Elysia had half a mind to slap him for swearing at her, but didn't want to him scream any more than he already was. He squinted at the light bulbs in the ceiling fixtures and the chandeliers, a frown etched on his lips.

"Damn it, turn off some of these fucking lights!! 'The hell you need this shit so damn bright for?"

The noble obeyed, flicking off all but one in the room. One of Kankuro's eyes carefully reopened, but the other squinted itself shut. She was glad he hadn't registered whose room he was in; she didn't want to listen to him complain about that, _too_.

Elysia glanced around the room briefly, before poking her head out the door. Kankuro's head shot up from his knees, whipping to glare at the noble as she peered out the front door.

"What the hell you doing?"

"How do you contact the hired hands?"

"They don't fucking stay on the same premises as us, damn it!"

"I gathered that," She replied patiently through gritted teeth, applying years of dealing with her father to extend her patience past its usual limit.

"But, how do you contact them?"

"The hell you want those sons of bitches for anyway?"

"Bouillon soup," She reminded him.

"You're a chick! Chicks cook, right?! Just make the shit yourself!"

"That takes a long time to prepare, Kankuro. I do not know about you, but I am surely not willing to wait one more hour to get you that remedy."

He paused to glare at her through his open eye, contemplating what she said. Massaging his head, he nodded slowly as not to further instigate his headache than he already had.

"They won't come on a whim. You have to notify them ahead of time when you need them. Just give me something with vitamin C," He concluded, his voice finally lowering itself to a civil tone.

"Vitamin C? Why vitamin C?" Elysia blurted, though she regretted the words the second they left her tongue.

"Yes, vitamin fucking C," He repeated, his voice escalating with each word he spoke.

"Hell, I don't know why, Kiba just told me that vitamin C does some shit..."

His voice cracked, trailing off at the end of his sentence, resorting to grumbling menacingly under his breath. Elysia ducked into the mini fridge, praying that there was something with vitamin C among its array of contents. Sure enough, Lady Luck was, for once in her life, finally on her side. She withdrew the entire bottle of orange juice from the fridge and leaned over the back of the couch to surrender the beverage, sure she wasn't going to drink any of it anyways.

_"Asshole will need the whole thing."_

Kankuro promptly unscrewed the cap, tossing it carelessly onto the floor as he took a large swig. He rocked back and forth several times in failed attempts to stumble to his feet before he succeeded. Using the wall for support, he staggered down the hallway, yanking open the first door he came to, slamming it shut behind him. Having watched the spectacle from the end of the hallway, Elysia covered her mouth as she stifled laughter. Something behind the door fell, Kankuro swore aloud, knocking something else down on his way out of the closet.

"Where the fuck is the bathroom?"

"Last door at the end of the hall on your right."

Kankuro absentmindedly reached for the handle of the door on his left, the bottle of orange juice sloshing in his free hand.

"The door on the _right_," The noble repeated louder.

He muttered inaudibly, turning to his right and stumbled inside, not bothering to close the door behind him this time. Elysia shuddered, unable to work up the courage to shut the door for him. With a heavy heart and even heavier stomach, she winced as she listened as he threw up, _hopefully_, in the toilet. If he'd missed, she shuddered to think of the mess she'd be leaving for the maids to clean up, because _she _sure as heck wasn't touching it.

"Take a bath, Lord Kankuro," She shouted as an afterthought.

_"Maybe he will sweat out some of the pissiness while he sits smelling his own vulgarity."_

"I was going to," Kankuro called back, his speech slurred, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Elysia childishly stuck her tongue out him through the wall, throwing herself onto the couch. Burying her face into the cushion, the noble heard the faucet in the bathroom begin to run. The thought that maybe she should go out and hunt down dinner for herself and the irate puppet master crossed her mind, but she dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had come. She would have to go alone, obviously, and knowing her infamous luck, she would run into Gaara. Now that they were soon going to be _spouses_, somehow she hardly doubted that minor detail would excuse her being out and about on her own. Still, her stomach made its presence known, scolding her for her neglect. As if he'd just realized the door was still open, there was an almost pained-sounding cry of shock and a loud splash, before the door slammed shut. The noble couldn't help herself as she laughed into the cushion, rising to her feet. There had been orange juice; maybe there was something she could work with. She wasn't the best cook in he world; in fact, she had never tried to cook before in her life. Kankuro might not like it, but he could get over it, she thought with a sly grin.

* * *

Kankuro had taken the liberty of bathing until he felt tranquil. Even though he could still feel his brain throw itself against the insides of his skull, he felt considerably better. Cooking, Elysia had learned in such a short time, was a wonderful stress reliever. The puppet master had wrapped a light pink towel around his waist, draped another white one over his shoulders, and a third pale blue towel was wrapped like a turban around his head. He was taking no chances with letting the noble see him half naked, and had decided to go the extra mile. He scrubbed at his head as he made his exit, freezing at the scent that greeted him. It wasn't until his stomach warned him of impending doom that he realized how hungry he was, and bolted to the source of the smell.

"Whoa, Elysia..."

She flashed a haughty smile at him as she watched him gape at the food she'd prepared. Well... She had boiled ramen noodles, stuck a frozen fish in the oven and boiled a few vegetables. As soon as the fish had been cooked, she sliced it and the vegetables, tossing the three together, along with some random herbs and spices around that she thought _sounded _like they might taste good. She had cheated, but Kankuro didn't have to know that.

"Eat up," The noble chimed, thrusting a bowl at his chest, eating utensils laid across the rim of the dish.

Kankuro stared at the soup-substance as if she'd just handed him gold and not food. His gaze rose to meet hers, who cast him an inquisitive stare.

"You can cook?!" He blurted in bewilderment.

"Apparently."

"Since _when_?"

"You hungry or what?"

The puppeteer couldn't argue with that logic. He promptly sat down at the table and dug in, slurping his way to a full belly without casting the noble a second glance.

_"He is either extremely forgetful... or extremely ignorant,"_ Elysia noted, observing how he had attacked his food without a second thought.

If the residents of the Sand distrusted her so much, how come one of them had just assaulted her cooking without making sure she ate first? For all he knew, it could have been poisoned. Smiling inwardly, she twirled the ramen noodles around her chopsticks, deciding that she'd rather not ruin the light atmosphere by bringing it to his attention.

A sudden cry of yearning from a vaguely familiar voice reached Elysia's ears, and she gasped aloud, whirling around onto her feet, chopsticks brandished like dangerous, poison-tipped senbon.

"_Ramen_!! Oh man, does _that _look good!!"

Naruto began to charge the kitchen, only to have Kankuro leap to his feet an into the Hokage's path defensively.

"Nu-huh! Sorry Naruto, you're going to have to get your fix somewhere else! This shit is _mine_!"

"Aw, man! Come on!"

"No way! What if I want seconds?"

"But I want _firsts_!" Naruto whined his lips puckering out pitifully.

"Too bad! There's not enough for a party, Gaara, why the hell'd you bring him here?"

"Kankuro," Gaara reprimanded casually, watching the fight break out from afar.

"Sorry, sorry, but I'm hungry!"

"So am I!" Naruto protested, trying to shove past his restrainer.

Kankurou promptly jerked the towel from his head, lashing it out around Naruto's throat.

"Why do you not just let him get a bowl, Kankuro?" Elysia questioned, once the shock of the sudden company had worn off.

"No way!" Kankuro argued, engaging the blond in a wrestling match in the middle of the doorway to the kitchen.

"You don't know Naruto like I do! He'll eat it _all _when it comes to ramen! He won't leave so much as a _drop _of broth left!"

"Kankuro, you cannot be seri--"

"I saw him eat nine bowls of ramen once! _Nine_! There isn't nine bowls worth of ramen _in _that pot!"

Elysia whipped to the Kazekage for support, hoping he might intervene. Instead, he watched the fight break out from a distance, arms folded across his chest, onlooking with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He appeared serene, at peace, _happy_, even, if she didn't know any better, and the noble wasn't going to be the one to break that spell on him.

Heaving a shrug, she sat back down and resumed eating. She tried not to laugh when Gaara approached the two warring men, stepping casually over them and into the kitchen.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro cried aloud in warning.

"D-don't you even _dare_!"

He watched, mortified, as his younger brother stepped back over them, a bowl of ramen as his trophy. Kankuro heaved an angry sigh, relinquishing his hold on Naruto, who sprinted into the kitchen at his release. Defeated, Kankuro slumped back to the table and to his own bowl.

"Why do I even try," He seethed, offering Gaara a harsh glare, who ate obliviously to the anger emanating from his elder brother.

"Kankuro, get dressed," Gaara retorted snidely, although the makings of a smile began creeping back onto his lips.

Naruto sputtered with obnoxious laughter, and Kankuro's face flushed, realizing he was still dressed only by two towels, the third now slung lazily over his shoulder. He quickly excused himself to properly clothe himself, but not before informing his younger brother;

"Gaara, you're a douche."

* * *

Although the meal hadn't been the most "I'd-die-to-eat-that-once-more" tasting thing that had ever touched her lips, between Kankuro and Naruto, the pot had been annihilated. After that, however, came the ordeal she had dreaded for the past four days.

With modest interest, the noble watched the Hokage and Kankuro occupy themselves, along with Temari and Sakura, both whom had ambled into the room shortly after eating, by playing strange hand games that she'd never seen nor heard of before. She had half a mind to fall down onto her knees and play, too, but she knew better than to butt in uninvited.

_"It's impolite,"_Her mother's voice murmured, chiming like bells in the back of her mind.

_"Yeah, yeah... I know, mom..."_

A sudden pang shot through her chest, racking her entire body to the brink of losing the sanity that had been dangling over the rhetorical ledge for years.

Suddenly, she wanted her warm embrace more than anything. She wanted to feel her sister's tiny hands, to hear her mouth that had always been even cruder than her own More than anything, she...

She wanted these things more than she wanted the Kazekage to sit down next to her a little too closely than was to her liking, anyways. He leaned back comfortably into the couch, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

"What is it?"

Eyes narrowing, she peered at him curiously out of her peripheral vision. He stared ahead at the giggling Sakura and a groaning Naruto. She had to strain her ears to her his low, raspy voice speak.

"What is what?"

"You have something on your mind."

"I always have something one my mind."

The Kazekage quickly broke his gaze, turning to glare at the noble. Elysia perked up at his harsh gaze, sinking further into the couch and further away from him.

_"How could he tell something was bothering me?"_

"I was thinking about going to Konoha," She blurted out her lie.

"I have never been there."

Gaara nodded, seeming to understand her apprehensiveness. As soon as the lie left her lips, she wished it hadn't, because a sudden reminder seemed to dawn on him.

"If you haven't come to a conclusion yet, you should."

Through lips that barely seemed to move at all, low and behold, there it was, to serve her like a slap in the face as usual. Her chest seemed to cave in on her, and she laid her head back onto the arm of the couch.

"There is no need. I know what I have to do."

The red head continued to stare intently at her, silently willing an answer from her. Kankuro swore aloud, the Leaf shinobi and his sister howling with laughter.

"What the hell, Temari?! Aren't you supposed to be on _my _side?"

"Sorry, Kankuro. It's every man for himself."

"Jeez, thanks, _sis_."

Elysia bit down on her lip, twinging at the weight of a single stare.

"I do not think I ever had a valid argument against you, Lord Kazekage..."

He arched a knowing brow at her, silently asking her to elaborate, earning him a steady glare from the flustered woman.

"Please do not make me repeat myself."

The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, before it disappeared just as suddenly. He rose to his feet, and his siblings' heads snapped to him simultaneously.

"Where are you going, Gaara?"

"I'll be back," He reassured his siblings before slipping out the door.

Having been the only one speaking to Gaara, all four shinobi's gazed shifted to Elysia. The noble tensed under their stares.

"What?" She managed to croak.

"What was that all about?" Kankuro demanded.

He ditched the hand game they'd been playing, rising to his feet. She averted her eyes elsewhere, scanning the walls.

"I am going to make the assumption that he went to speak to Lord Tsuchikage..."

"The Tsuchikage!" Temari chimed, bolting to her feet, stars seeming to dance luminously in her eyes.

The kunoichi flitted to the noble's side, plopping down next to her on the couch, a wide grin slowly spreading across her face. The look was positively _devious _to Elysia, and she couldn't help the blood that was carefully making its was into her cheeks.

"So, does that mean that you...?"

"Unfortunately..." Elysia breathed, dropping her chin into her palm, propped on the arm of the couch. She silently wished she was anywhere but here, while Temari and Kankuro exchanged excited glances.

"Damn..." He reminisced to himself.

"If you would have told me ten years ago that Gaara would marry, ever..."

"It's a dream come true," Temari agreed dreamily, nodding fervently.

Sakura clasped her hands together, sighing, already drifting into her own idealistic world. Naruto simply blinked as if in a daze.

"Well, I for one, am happy for Gaara... He deserves someone who can make him happy..." She swooned, the oblivious Hokage staring at her, hopelessly perplexed.

"You guys _do_ realize that Gaara and I are only getting married for joint trade and alliances... right?" Elysia felt the need to reminded them drearily.

If it had been physically possible, Naruto's jaw would have hit the floor. He sprang to his face, his eyes nearly falling out of his head.

"You and Gaara are getting _married_?!"

Elysia sighed, already tired of admitting the _sickening _fact. And to think... it hadn't even been announced publicly to the three nations, yet. She nodded bleakly.

"Yes..."

"Oh my god!!"

Naruto began to hop from one foot to the other, jittery, as if he'd been overcome by the sudden urge to urinate.

"Gaara's getting _married_!! _Gaara_!! Freakin' _Gaara_!!"

Sakura leapt up from the floor, delivering a slap to the back of her kage's head. Elysia recoiled at the impact, wondering if she was mentally challenged to assault her own Hokage.

"Naruto!" She scolded, proceeding to quite literally rain on his parade,

"If you had paid any attention at all in the meetings, you would know that Gaara wants to marry Elysia for image, and so the Stone will open trade to us, too!"

Naruto blinked rapidly, rubbing his head vigorously as he looked to Elysia, as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"So, that's why..."

"Yeah..." Elysia found herself mumbling, not at all sharing their enthusiasm.

The blond gazed around the room in bewilderment.

"Gaara... I... I never thought I'd see him get himself hitched..."

"Yeah, no kidding," Kankuro piped, although a smiled was on his lips, pride in his heart.

"I'm going to be an uncle one of these days."

Temari squealed with delight at the idea of being called "Aunt", and Elysia groaned as if she was in some sort of physical pain. She draped herself over the arm of the couch, letting half of her body hang in melancholy.

The four shinobi struck up idle chatter amongst themselves, and Elysia half-heartedly caught bits and pieces of the conversation.

"...nothing like what he used to be..."

"...makes me feel happy for him..."

"...gonna be strange..."

"...be a weird father..."

"_Father_!? Hell, I still can't see that..."

Temari deftly delivered a jab to her brother's abdomen, causing a string of curses to spill from his mouth in irritation.

"I think Elysia would make a good mother," She added as an afterthought, offering said noble a glassy eyed gaze.

Their stares all trained themselves on Elysia, who, once again, cringed under pressure. She quickly brought herself upright, folding her hands politely on her knees.

"I would rather not think about that right now," She mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Temari nodded almost sympathetically, but Kankuro wasn't ready to let the ordeal drop just yet.

"So, you think you two will get right on the ball with the whole kids thing, or is the happy couple gonna wait 'till the council starts houdin' you?"

Even Sakura jumped him, catching him in the jaw as Temari began slapping him madly.

"Perv!" The medical nin screamed.

"That's not something you just go around asking people, lecher!" His elder sister cried in agreement.

Naruto observed the bloodbath, making haste in backing away from them.

"S-Sakura is as violent... as ever..."

"_What _was that, Naruto?"

The Hokage blanched, turning as pale as the perturbed noble, not meaning to have his comment heard by the pink haired kunoichi.

"N-Nothing!! It was nothing, Sakura!"

"This marriage..." Elysia moaned out, her abdomen contracting with the sudden urge to up-chuck, torn between humiliation and horror,

"...Is _already _going to hell in a hand-basket."


	8. Chapter 8

So... am I just the lone freak, or does anyone else love G4's _Ninja Warrior_? I absolutely _love _it. It's my crack. They've been airing a lot of that show lately, and although I'm not much of T.V. person ('cept when watching the ever increasingly-not-aired anime genre or... _Ninja Warrior_... You know... **important **stuff, ha ha...), but it has me thoroughly addicted.

I know this one's a tad shorter than what I've been writing, and that it took me three weeks to get this chapter out. Sorry about that. Please don't blame _Ninja Warrior_ for that. It was my own procrastination.

* * *

By the time the infamous Sand Squad and their Leaf village allies reached the Hidden Leaf for the Chuunin Examinations, Elysia had silently decided that she didn't like the Leaf's new "acclaimed" Hokage half as much as she'd initially thought.

Said Hokage danced in place, hands on his hips as his body wriggled rhythmetically in time with his singing, the arch of the village's towering double-doored gate looming overhead.

"Gaara and Elysia, sittin' in a tree! K-i-s-s-i-n-g!!"

The noble folded her arms stubbornly against her chest, scowling at the overplayed, cliche taunt. Despite herself, a dark crimson shade crept onto her cheeks, serving only to fuel her increasing anger and irritation.

A certain sand user inclined his head curiously, his forehead creasing as he stared intently at Naruto, as if trying to figure out what it was that the Hokage had spelled out.

Kankuro doubled over, coughing violently into his knees as he tried in vain to mask his obvious laughter. Temari rolled her eyes accordingly and sighed at the blond's immaturity, but a smile eventually found its way onto even her lips.

The Sand and Leaf had departed from River Country separately, but Kankuro had been more than enough to pick up the slack on Naruto's behalf.

For the first part of the journey, Elysia had made it a point to obstinately avoid the young Kazekage, quickly drifting away from him if he ever drew near to her. She had no idea if Gaara noticed her evasive tactics, but Kankuro had. As she attempted to fall into step several paces behind the sand wielder, his elder brother caught her, dragging her to her fiance's side before weaseling himself between them. His arms draped loosely around Gaara's shoulders (and pinning his arm around Elysia's to the point of suffocation), a grin crossing his broad features.

"So? How's the happy couple-to-be?"

To her chagrin, Gaara made no attempt whatsoever to stop the obvious invasion of personal space that was occuring to her, offering his elder brother a short glance before casting his stoic eyes back ahead. Elysia bit down on the insides of her cheek to keep herself from blurting something rude that would cause the puppet-master to clock her in the face, or getting herself drowned in a sea of sand. Gaara apparently shared her thoughts, because he remained silent as well. The absence of speech irritated Kankuro, and his grin faltered.

"Woah... Hope this isn't the kind of conversation you guys share in privacy."

"What privacy?" Elysia had retorted before she could restrain herself.

The second the words left her lips, she silently cursed herself. The coy smile returned to Kankuro's face, and he nodded fervently in assent.

"You know what, you're right! You two lovebirds don't get enough alone time... Well, Temari and I are gonna change that!"

The puppeteer ducked between the two, releasing his hold on them as he ran to catch up with Temari. Wispering urgently to her, his elder sister scoffed loudly at his obscene suggestion, before attempting to take a swing at his head. He parried her fist with his palm before leaping back out of her range, cackling aloud to himself. Elysia shuddered at the mere idea of whatever it was Kankuro was trying to scheme. What if he arranged for her and Gaara to share a room at the quarters they'd be staying at, and locked them in? Well, doors don't look from the outside... but what if _these _doors did? Reason left her, and her mind reeled in horror, a dread that must have shown on her face, because the Kazekage eyed her peculiarly. Almost as if stricken with a sudden revelation, his curious gaze faltered, replaced slowly with understanding. He tilted his head to gaze over to his distressed fiance, his light eyes holding in them a serious sharpness.

"He won't do anything, unless he enjoys pain."

Elysia winced at the threat, turning her widened, wild gaze to Gaara, her mouth slightly agape in shock. Amusement flickered in his eyes, a minuscule smile almost unnoticeable gracing his lips. The noble was stricken by the rare show of emotion, and she found herself returning the gesture with a mischievous grin of her own.

"I would like that very much, Lord Kazekage."

"I supposed you would."

Ahead of them, a certain dead-man-walking began to hum aloud. It was a fantasy melody to most, but little more than a funeral dirge to the noble, her smile vanishing into the evening air as the tune found its familiar place in her mind.

"Hum, hmm, ummumm.... da, da, dada..."

"Shut your mouth, Kankuro," Elysia found herself spitting out, her tone dripping with the very venom she felt towards him at the moment.

The puppet master roared with laughter, and instead of silencing, his voice rose, and soon he was singing the song obnoxiously. Gaara, who hadn't recognized the tune before, now glared warningly at his elder brother.

"Here comes the bride! All dressed in white!!"

"Kankuro," Gaara and Temari scolded in unison.

The two siblings exchanged awkward glances with one another at the occurrence, since they never seemed to share the same thoughts. Brushing the thought off, Temari pressed.

"You've had your fun. Now that's enough."

"You kidding? I'm just getting started! Here comes the--!"

"Zip it!" Temari growled, having been shot a glare threatening certain doom from her younger brother.

"We are getting tired of listening to your screeching," Elysia grumbled in agreement, but not low enough to avoid the puppeteer's keen hearing.

"You sure that's the _only _reason you don't want to hear me?" He challenged slyly, snickering.

The young sand user shifted his narrow-eyed gaze to his elder brother, and Kankuro's entire jaw seemed to meld together solemnly. The young noble flashed the Kazekage a grateful smile, not knowing how much longer she could have endured the puppet master's incessant teasing without attempting to fatally throttle him. Feeling her eyes upon him, the Kazekage shifted his eyes back to Elysia, peering at her out of the corner of his eyes, catching her grinning at him. His lips twitched, holding back his own smugness at having pleased the seemingly unpleasable.

* * *

In all the years the noble had been to the biannual festivities known as the Chuunin Examinations, never had she seen such a rowdy crowd. The young Kazekage was harassed (more so than usual, anyway) diligently by males and females alike, the rumor having already circulated about his supposed marriage.

_"Who is she?"_

_"Do you really love her?"_

_"I'm so happy for you, my Lord!"_

_"Are you really marrying, Lord Kazekage?"_

_"Does this mean I no longer have a chance?!"_

_"Eghad!! Outdone by a floozy! That _tramp_, where the hell is she?!"_

With grit determination, Temari resolved to make Elysia the most, "sophisicatingly alluring eye-candy anyone had ever beheld", to quote the kunoichi's bold declaration, as not to so much as smudge her younger brother's ever-growing prestige and exceeding reputation. At this the noble sneered, silently cursing Lady Luck and the grudge the entity apparently held so firmly against her.

_"Damn my life."_

"Your hair is beautiful," A blue-eyed woman decided, gently petting Elysia's tresses between her fingers.

"There's not much work to do there."

Only two days had passed since the information that the young Kazekage was to marry the very woman he had taken under his wing when he allied his country with the Earth, but Temari had already assembled a fashion-makeover team composed of Leaf kunoichi, and a few citizens as well. It was meant to be "precautionary", as Temari had put it, but as far as Elysia was concerned, the very thought that the fan user seemed to deem it necessary was a soul-shattering blow to her self-esteem. It was as if the kunoichi thought Elysia was nearly beyond all help, therefore _needed _an entire team of "fashionistas" to show her the way.

The young woman dropped the noble's hair back onto her shoulders, nodding approvingly. She tucked her own icy blond bangs behind her ear before continuing.

"But your skin... You're so pale. Don't you know what sunlight is?"

Elysia bit down on the inside of her left cheek furiously, her tongue forming choice words behind her clenched teeth.

_"I live in the _Sand_, you fool."_

"I do not get out very often."

"She's a redhead," Sakura reminded her blond accomplice.

"They never tan; just burn and fade."

She put a finger thoughtfully to her lips, inclining her head leisurely as she analyzed the noble.

"Ino... Did you bring the make-up kit?"

The blond kunoichi arched a perfect brow, as if both shocked and appalled at the suggestion.

"Of course, billboard brow. I never leave without it."

"Get it, then. Let's see what you look like with blue... Like your eyes. It'd be a good idea to bring them out even more."

Elysia's mind was immediately flooded with images of an almost-goddess. The way she had looked the night she went to dinner with her father and Gaara. She had surprised even herself, unaware that she could have ever looked like she had. Still, the fact that she knew that the cause for all of this, just as it had been then, was all for Gaara, made her stomach churn squeamishly. For Gaara, and for his precious reputation that had to be upheld at all costs-- because after all, God forbid the Kage of the Sand marry an _ordinary _woman. Not that she figured _he _would ever notice if she was dressed in rags or adorned as a goddess, but the people _would_. That was why Temari, and even Kankuro, fretted over everything from her appearance to the way she spoke (Temari had threatened to throttle her the first time she swore in public), and that was why they would continue to fret.

The second time around, Elysia was more familiar with the whole "make-up" drill, and therefore was much less reluctant when the vaguely familiar utensils neared her eyes. Still, Ino rolled her eyes and scoffed each and every time the noble flinched at the elongated, bristle contraption. It didn't help that she had random visions of the girls stabbing her in the eye with the thing, but she pursed her lips and dealt with the women who tugged at her hair, her eyelashes, her hands. Even her nails had been painted with a clear coating of something like lacquer, making them shine glamorously in the light. The beautiful sheen reminded the noble of a happier subject, and she rounded on Temari after hours that had been less than invigorating.

"Silk," she had demanded plainly.

She folded her arms across her chest in arrogance, and Temari had laughed, knowing full well that the noble was irritated and would not back down.

"Alright, alright. I _did _promise you, anyway, didn't I?"

Elysia nodded affirmatively, falling into step behind the kunoichi. She was in a bitterly foul mood, already feeling remorse for the first person to ignorantly cross her. Today had been nothing like the first time she had laid eyes on herself remodeled with paints and creams galore. For some reason that she couldn't place her finger on, when she glanced at herself in a mirror, the only word that came to mind had been,

_"Fake."_

It was as if a mask had been placed over her face, and she had hated it. Temari had been ecstatic, and "proud" was an understatement for the remodelers, but the remodeled woman hadn't shared their happy sentiments.

"Here. Try this one on."

Between her thumb and index fingers, Temari carefully held up a crimson garment, in which intricate golden designs of swirls and ivy had been woven into the hem, sleeves and collar.

"...And this. It adds to the kimono."

She reached for a small barrette-type flower, no larger than a couple inches wide. It glittered a dull red, with flecks of gold and silver among the petals. Pressing it experimentally against Elysia's hair above her right ear, the kunoichi smiled.

"That's beautiful. Gaara would like it."

A dull fire stirred in Elysia's chest, and she bristled. In that instant, she could place a name to her constant state of unrest.

_"It is not his fault. Those old windbags are the ones making him marry somebody. They could care less who."_

**That is not true**, a voice seemed to argue dryly with her in the back of her mind.

As if on cue, Temari's insistent words rang like angry bells in her head.

_"We're low on candidates. Gaara's very picky when it comes to women, and deciphering "his type". Look, this idea was sheer genius. The council gets off Gaara's back; you are treated with some respect, otherwise the perpetrator faces Gaara's wrath. You're back to having your status of nobility again, instead of being just another resident of the Sand. Everybody wins. You aren't going to marry anyone else, anyways."_

**This was no accident.**

Elysia clenched her jaw angrily, brushing Temari's hand from her hair and clasping ahold of the small trinket in one fell swoop. She brought it her chest, glaring at it in the palm of her hand as if it was the source of all of her anger and all of her pain.

_"It was _not _accident."_

"Take me back to the quarters," She found herself whispering hoarsely in a bitterly raspy voice she almost didn't recognize as her own.

Temari must have noted the noble's odd behaviour as well, because she offered her a strange look before nodding without question, taking the flower from Elysia's hand.

"I'll just pay for this and the kimono, and then we can leave."

* * *

Retreating to her room, Elysia fell into thumbing through her makeshift closet, and sighed in defeat.

Two silk garbs.

A bajillion public appearances to make with her fiance.

She could safely say the cards were not stacked in her favor.

"Knock knock," A man called in a dull voice through the noble's door.

An identical sound followed his words, and she swept to the door to open it.

"Lord Kankuro, good afternoon."

"Thought you could use the company," He explained, though from the bored look on his face, the noble figured he had decided to seek her out due to his own boredom, not for concern for hers.

"I appreciate the consideration, my lord."

"Yeah yeah..."

He placed his hand against the door frame, using her free hand to jerk over his shoulder.

"Temari's being a bitch. No poker today. I know a couple guys who have been looking for someone to play their G-rated games with them for hours though."

The noble earnestly agreed, happy to have one of the Sand siblings willingly seek her out. She had hoped that since her and Gaara's engagement, that maybe he'd come to see her every now and then, even if just for a casual hello, but her hopes were quickly shot down after two days of not so much as seeing hair nor hide of him. As it turned out, there were card games Kankuro liked to play, and there were those he did not like quite so well.

"Go fish," Kankuro droned, scratching the bridge of his nose.

He yawned, stretching his arm out slowly, leisurely, as he drew yet another card from the quickly depleting deck.

Although the kunoichi usually had little to no opinion of poker games, Temari wasn't allowing him to gamble today. She'd nearly killed him for trying to plead his case to his younger brother.

_"She must be pissy about something..."_

A young man clad in a green jumpsuit and standard Leaf Chuunin vest slapped his cards face-down on the table, making both Kankuro and Elysia jump nearly out of their skins.

"Kankuro! Please give me a seven of diamonds!"

"Shit..."

The puppeteer threw the seven of diamonds onto the table, and the thick-browed man quickly scooped it up.

"Please give me a nine of diamonds!"

Kankuro cringed, before tossing said card to the Chuunin, who smiled triumphantly, laying down his suit.

"Good job, Lee! I'd expect nothing less from _my_ number one student!"

"Thank you, Guy-sensei!"

"Well, imagine that," Kankuro groaned idly, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"Lee won _again_."

"Let's play again!" The older man, identified as Guy, insisted as he began to collect the cards to shuffle.

"No, I'm all fished out. Thanks anyway, though, for the... entertainment."

Elysia's stomach churned once again, and she nearly knocked her chair across the room trying to stop the master puppeteer's retreating form.

"But, Lord Kankuro... What about--?"

"Bushy brows will take care of you, don't worry."

"And where are you going?" She prompted urgently.

"The hell concern is it of your..."

He allowed his voice to trail off, cutting off his sentence with a nonchalant sigh.

"To sleep."

The door slammed shut, feeding the growing irritation of the noble. Guy rapped the cards promptly against the edge of the table, flashing his blinding white teeth.

"Ready for another round?"

Clentching her fists tightly, she swung her body around and resisted the urge to glare.

_"Kankuro is angry because Temari is angry, and will not allow him to play poker... What in the world got _her _irate...? If_ anybody _here has a reason to lash out, then it is_ me_."_

"Actually... I was wondering if one of you could take me on a tour of the Leaf. It is a beautiful village, and my first time..."

She inhaled sharply, cursing herself for her blunder as she watched the two Leaf shinobi exchange wary glances with one another. It was obvious that the Leaf village was still extremely wary of her... Temari had probably made sure of that during her visit here before she'd even met the noble.

"...Nevermind. I completely understand your decision, and I respect that. If you could just take me home, that would be--"

"And what is there back to your quarters?" Guy demanded, the huge smile returning to his broad face.

"No no no, Lee will show you the highlights of this village! Won't you, Lee?"

The Chuunin nodded enthusiastically, his dark eyes seeming to glow alight with a new determination, as if he'd personally been handed an S-rank mission by the Hokage himself. He jumped up from his seat, sweeping his hand dramatically through the opening as he opened the door.

"Please, after you!"

* * *

"So, Gaara... What made you wanna get yourself hitched, huh?"

A coy grin spread across his face, his mind filling with thoughts as far from Gaara's as was possible.

"I never wanted it," The Kazekage revealed bluntly.

Naruto smile faltered, fading as realization struck him. Within a few anticlimactic moments, a disappointed frown was etched onto his lips.

"It wasn't for love... So... It's just because the position had to be filled, huh..."

Gaara nodded affirmatively, the Hokage's deflated mood not registering in his mind. The blond scratched his head, sighing as he cast his eyes listlessly to the growing stack of neglected papers piling on his desk.

"The council here has never pressured me to marry... So long as I do my job, they're happy."

"You're very fortunate," Gaara murmured bitterly, glaring over at the door as the knob rattled noisily.

Naruto laughed dryly, a hollow and mocking sound, as he swept across the room to relieve Shizune of yet another burden of forms.

"Yeah, right... It's no cakewalk keeping these old jerks satisfied..."

He dropped the papers onto his desk, Shizune shutting the door behind her as she exited. Naruto pressed his thumb to the pads of his middle and ring fingers, his hand bobbing as he spoke through it childishly.

"'Lord Hokage, don't take risks!' 'Lord Hokage, attend this meeting!' 'Lord Hokage, kiss my baby!' 'Lord Hokage, as one of the few remaining Jinchuuriki, you should be extra cautious!'"

He sighed again, casting a crestfallen glance out the window towards the mountains where the likenesses of the Leaf's former Kages were sculpted. Sculptors were already at work diligently on his own face even though he'd only been Hokage less than half a year, but that wasn't what caught his attention. The sole female mounted there pulled at every heart-string he had.

"Grandma... I love being the Hokage. Although it's stressful work, I wouldn't give it up for the world. I just wish that she and the pervy sage were still around... To see, me..."

His eyes dropped suddenly, clenching his fists. He blinked rapidly, before meeting the sand wielder's gaze.

"After all we've been through... To get to where we are now, Gaara... All the pain... Do you think it was worth it?"

The Kazekage's body went rigid, his jaw set firmly. After all the years of Naruto having the right answers, the best chosen words, he had no answer to conceive his friend. He felt his heart freeze over as he watched the Hokage silently mouth one pained name on his lips.

_Sasuke_.

Before he could answer, Naruto flashed him a cheerful smile, and the pain of the past seemed to wash away from his friend's face like a cleansing water. Already, his doubt seemed to be a mile away.

"You know, I still can't believe you beat me to the whole marriage thing. And to think, I've never even had a steady girlfriend before. It's _craziness_!"

He elbowed the sand user, who returned the gesture with a small smile of his own.

"But you'd better believe that I'm not going to let you beat me to everything, Gaara."

The Hokage thought carefully for a moment, before winking slyly to his old friend.

"I'll be the first to have little future Kage babies walking around."

Laughing softly, Gaara absentmindedly reached up and began to softly message his temple, as if preparation for the inevitable headache to come. He had no doubt about _that_. He knew full well that Elysia would fight him to the death over this particular detail, and the woman was certainly of no use to him dead. It was not an idea that he himself was particularly fond of, and still had yet to settle in his stomach.

Naruto's lecherous grin faded, replaced by a serious expression.

"So, how does _she_ feel about being thrown into an arranged marriage...?"

Gaara shrugged nonchalantly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Temari says she thinks she's handling it in stride," He recalled solemnly.

"And she never really got angry with me over it."

Naruto began to chuckle, his laughter obnoxious and crude.

"So, she really likes you, then! She has the hots for you like those other girls I've seen around in the Sand! Gaara, you lucky dog!"

The Kazekage rose a nonexistent brow at the supposed compliment. Elysia, love _him_? Somehow, his mind told him otherwise.

"You're mistaken. Just because she didn't throw a tantrum doesn't mean she's attracted to me, Naruto."

Naruto rolled his eyes, standing his ground.

"She's gonna be your wife, Gaara. Of _course_ she's attracted to you."

The Hokage spoke determinedly as if his word was law and against the Kazekage, his simple logic the basis for his random accusation. Still, Gaara doubted his comrade's words, shaking his head slowly, his eyelids drooping softly. Even now, years after he'd become Kazekage and had remained diligently devoted to his village, the preconceived notion that anyone could love someone, some_thing _like himself was far beyond his range of understanding. As far as he was concerned, he would spend his marriage to the royalty of the Earth, all the while keeping her not only pacified enough to put up with him but also to bear him a child, just as the Councils had deemed. After its birth, he hoped he could attain a neutral state once again with his wife while she raised their child, and he carefully monitored it on how not to be a monster, whether or not it was born with abilities identical to its father.

And that was all.

Expecting love from his wife was not something he could count on, since he himself knew he would be unable to return such affections. Temari had been bothered by the lack of planned affection when he'd voiced it after she'd brought the matter to his attention, but Kankuro had been on his side wholly. His elder brother understood that Gaara could never bring himself to play the part of "sweet, romantic husband", and did not expect him to awkwardly try to weave such a relationship. He considered Elysia the ideal partner for him, since she was so quiet, so reserved in her mannerism. She didn't ask pointless questions, or make foolish requests; she wasn't needy nor selfish, and, most of all, she didn't _pry_. She seemed content to simply have another's company, which was not at all unlike Gaara himself.

"No, Naruto," Gaara finally answered, his arms falling down to his sides.

"Our relationship will be much more simple than all of that."

* * *

Hmm, do I sense foreshadowing there?! (Hint, hint.) But you could have guessed that much.


	9. Chapter 9

Like a paper umberella in a whirlwind, the Grass shinobi's body spiralled through the air. In his pain and frustration, he cried aloud as his leg jerked abruptly skyward, kneeing himself in the nose. Even from her distance seated snugly between the two Kages of the Leaf and Sand, Elysia could hear something give way to a sickening crack, and a shiver of pleasure shuddered down her spine. Edging forward in her seat, her eyes followed the boy's limp body as the burst of wind subsided and he crumpled in a heap back to the earth. Shikamaru stepped forward, hands shoved nonchalantly into his pockets, his dark eyes scanning the two combatants listlessly. The shinobi on the ground stirred lightly, but otherwise made no move to rise to his feet. A broad grin broke across the Sand kunoichi's face, and she tucked the twin hand fans back into the wide purple sash at her waist.

"Winner of the sixth match... Hoshi," the Nara announced, his voice bored and dreary, his wide mouth stooping into a tired frown.

The crowd erupted into cheers, as Hoshi turned and jogged back into the exit and medics arrived with a stretcher to take the wounded Grass ninja into their care. Elysia stirred restlessly, which Gaara ignored, as he had quickly learned to do. She tended to cheer and jeer louder than the rest of the crowd, it seemed, immersing herself completely into the battles that she watched. Kankuro and Naruto, however, were far from living their own amusement down.

"That was _amazing_!" The noble blurted breathlessly.

"I bet Lady Temari is very proud."

"_'Amazing'_, huh?" Kankuro repeated, his voice laced with his amusement.

"That kid just got his ass handed to him, and you say it's _amazing_?"

Elysia nodded enthusiastically, the dark auburn elaborate bun-style of her hair bobbing awkwardly atop its perch on her head. The puppeteer chuckled softly, before patting his brother on the shoulder.

"She's more riled by the battles than anyone else," The Hokage observed gleefully, his eyes scanning the crowd as if looking to find someone to disprove his words.

"Little bro, you've got one strange bitch for a fiance," Kankuro piped cheerfully.

At the mention of the _B _word, he failed to notice the young sand user stiffen beneath his hand. Gaara's head jerked violently in the direction of his elder brother, and if looks could kill, Kankuro would have been six feet under. His hands shot up in surrender before the Kazekage could even open his mouth.

"Don't use that word," Gaara growled warningly.

The puppet master's eyebrows rose in shock, and his hands faltered, falling back to his sides.

"Bitch?" He blurted without thinking, the word falling in confusion from his lips.

His voice soared at the end of the word, almost in the manner of a squeal.

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Kankuro quickly nodded his understanding.

"G-got it, Gaara... I won't say it anymore."

Even Elysia knew _that _was a lie, but she cleverly, and mercifully, held her tongue, unlike an oblivious blond Hokage she had the pleasure of knowing. He snickered, and the Kazekage's harsh glare rounded on him instantly. Had the noble not known why Gaara was so intent against the word, she might have shared a reaction similar to that of Kankuro's.

She could still remember his reaction to the definition of the vulgar word as he'd ignorantly tried to take Kankuro up on his promise of using it as a "gesture-of-good-faith" compliment against her. Apparently, he had paid very close attention to lecture that had proceeded, and was making sure to enforce his irritation with his elder brother.

The noble allowed her eyes to drift to Temari as Kankuro sank into sulking silently, standing with her pupils on the balcony above the crowd. Hoshi, who was obviously straining to contain her excitement of winning her own match in front of her sensei, spoke calmly to her team mates. Even at this distance, Elysia could see Hoshi's hands still trembling in her enthusiasm. Her skin was suntanned and her eyes a dark shade of forest green, but her waist-length hair was an icy blond color. Clad in various shades of purple, Hoshi gazed up to her teacher in admiration.

Not that she had expected Temari to consider it any of the noble's business, but Elysia had not known that the woman had an apprentice in her wind-style ways. Although Temari carried a carried attached to her lower back in which she used to summon her infamous giant fan, Hoshi performed similar jutsu via two identical hand fans that she kept tucked away inside the plum-purple sash tied about her waist. According to Kankuro, Hoshi used to be a shy, self-conscious kid. But she was a _smart _kid. She hadn't been top of her class in terms of her skills, but when it came to test scores and knowing the shinobi creed backwards as well as she did forward, she had left everyone else out in the dust. It was the girl's cleverness that had drawn Temari to the child in the first place, Kankuro had revealed. Although Temari was technically the sensei of all _three _of the students, not just Hoshi, everyone knew that Hoshi was her favorite. And then, with a hint of distaste in his voice, he added,

"And the more time they spend together, the more alike they become. In a year or two, Hoshi will be _exactly _like a little Temari."

Her ignorance about the apprenticeship was merely yet another demonstration of how much she was a part of them, yet how she couldn't get any farther away from them.

She quickly pushed the thought from her mind, unwilling to depress herself as she seemed to be doing such a flawless job of doing as of late, and concentrated on the match about to begin.

Shikamaru squinted up towards the sun, gazing to the balcony.

"Okay, now the final two combatants, you know who you are, so come on down here."

Hoshi pressed her body against the railing, her hands flailing madly as she cheered on one of her team mates. Another male of her team slouched lazily against the opposite wall, rolling his big brown eyes in exasperation.

"Surano's match is against a _brat_. If he can't beat _her_, I'll never speak to him again."

"But she's good," Hoshi argued matter-of-factly, her high-pitched voice ringing as she eyed her team mate skeptically. "You saw how she flattened that guy from the Waterfall."

"That idiot dropped his guard on her because she was a child, and he didn't expect a real fight out of her."

"Still..."

Temari peered down curiously at the kunoichi her students were speaking so animatedly about, and her brows arched in shock.

She found herself staring at an extremely young child, no older than perhaps five or six. The girl's jet black hair tumbled in unruly waves around her shoulders, her skin donning a fair tan. Most peculiarly about her, however, were her dark red eyes, the irises rimmed with black. The child struck a familiar chord somewhere in her mind, and she tore her eyes from the girl, scanning the crowd for anyone who looked like the child.

"The final round will be Asumi Yuuhi versus Surano," Shikamaru announced.

His tone held a hint of skepticism, as if he wasn't sure he wanted this round to commence. The child turned to face Shikamaru, her face breaking into a confident grin.

"Don't worry about me, Shikamaru-sensei. I'm going to beat this guy up and then become a Chuunin, okay?"

Shikamaru returned the gesture with a half-hearted smile. Reluctantly, he slowly backed away from the combatants.

"... You may begin."

Elysia's heart fell through her stomach at the sight of the match-up. The girl was but a child, and her opponent was at least fifteen. He had to have been twice her age. The male was tall and thin, but the muscles that peeked from beneath his black long sleeved form-fitting fishnet suggested his strength. Black loose pants hung around his legs; the traditional open-toed shinobi sandals instead were shinobi boots, cutting off about five inches from his knees. The cloth on his arms extended into fingerless gloves, and his Sand headband hung loosely from his neck. His muscles moved fluid and firm as he walked, and it was evident in his dark, heartless eyes that they longed for the fight his body would soon deliver.

He would break this little girl like a twig.

Her mind reeled as the Sand shinobi jumped several paces back before dropping to his knees, his hands coming up in the sign of the ram.

_"Is he seriously going to fight that child?"_

As if to answer her unspoken question, Surano slammed his palm to the arena's ground. Cracks spider-webbed in the earth beneath his fingertips, and a chasm opened up beneath the girl as it attempted to swallow her up into its depths.

_"That is not..."_

Her head snapped to Gaara, who watched the match apathetically. Naruto and Kankuro shared his same disinterest, and Elysia could guess the thoughts going through each of their minds.

"This kid doesn't stand a chance," Kankuro finally spoke the very words weighing on his thoughts. "He's mentored by Temari herself, who in herself is no pushover. He won't lose to some little _brat_."

He spat the words confidently, and not even Naruto bothered to rebuke him in the defense of one of his own shinobi.

The thought crossed Elysia's mind to have Gaara call off this match, to spare the little girl that would without a doubt be killed here. But she knew all too well the ways of shinobi.

Even if she were to reduce herself to pleading, Gaara would not stop this match.

Even so, the noble found it hard to tear her eyes away.

Asumi lept up, out of the path of the shattered earth. Making several hand signs of her own, a tree sprouted from the ground, growing rapidly over the crag. She landed on one of its wide branches, sinking to her knees as she brought her hands together in the sign of the snake. Two branches from the newly emerged tree snapped out, lashing at Surano. He quickly pulled a kunai from his holister, slashing away at the branches only to be swatted to his back by a third. With an audible grunt, he rolled out of the way and onto his knees to avoid being skewered by the tree's branches. The bark peirced his side, and his gaze flickered towards the child barely in time to see her vanish in a wisp of pink flower petals. The instant she disappeared, several other trees began to forest the area, shimmering softly before seeming to solidify, until Saruno was surrounded by nothing but trees. Not even the crowd was any longer visible. The branches of the trees rose into the air, and began to rain kunai knives of wood down upon him.

From another's point of view, however, Saruno seemed to be lunging out of the way of invisible obstacles, the single tree shaking in the windless afternoon.

Up in the balcony, Hoshi's team mate Karow shook his head angrily, sending his long black locks tumbling into his eyes.

"That's the same genjutsu she used against the guy from the Waterfall," He scoffed. "Surely she doesn't think the same move will work on Saruno, not after he's already seen it."

"You have to hand it to her, though," Temari murmured, her eyes fixed onto the still growing plant. "Think of what it takes to sustain a jutsu like that. She's gotta be a powerhouse of chakra."

The now ten-foot high tree swayed, an ominous wind sweeping through the clearing. Hailing branches receded to mere splinters that Surano could easily brush aside with a single swipe of his arm, so he rose to his feet again. He glared through dark violet eyes around the arena, searching for any sign of where the child could have disappeared to. His hand dipped into his pouch of shinobi tools, and produced a small, violet scroll. Between his teeth, Saruno tore at the tie binding the scroll, spitting it out onto the ground as he flattened the parchment against the earth.

Temari's eyes widened in surprise, and even Kankuro recognized the move.

"Kid's not playing around, is he?" Came his rhetorical question with a sly grin.

"I didn't think he'd use _that_, and so early in the fight, too," Temari mused aloud.

She frowned disapprovingly.

_"I should have known he'd jump the gun without thinking with that the second he found himself in a pinch."_

"He can't be serious," Karow spat in astonishment.

"He's going to use _that_?! Against _her_? What a waste."

Saruno bit down on his thumb, smearing the newly shed blood across the pale scroll.

"Summoning Jutsu: Quick Beheading Dance!"

In a puff of smoke, a white weasel clutching a sickle nearly as big as it was materialized. It wore a black cloth over its left eye, making it appear to one-eyed, but it didn't hinder its movement at all. The weasel tore through the clearing with inhuman speed, and the tree was no more than a pile of wooden shavings on the ground. The jutsu was dispelled immediately, and the weasel made a swift sweep around the arena for good measure before vanishing back in an identical gust of smoke in which it had come.

"What was _that_?" Elysia questioned breathlessly, her eyes wide as she stared at the young pair of shinnobi and the now flattened arena.

Her thoughts were flooded with images of Katsuo, and a large blue and white slug in which he prided himself in.

"Was that one of those summonings?"

Kankuro nodded affirmatively, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Kamatari," He clarified.

"Temari had told me that she'd taught the summon to Saruno, but it suprised the hell out of me when it was him and not Hoshi."

"Hoshi is careless," Gaara commented in his raspy monotone.

"The way she fights doesn't suit Kamatari. Temari knows this."

The puppeteer shrugged impassively, before turning his full attention back to the match.

Her genjutsu dispelled, Asumi stood vulnerable in the arena. Her small frame shook, and her breathing was labored. Elysia bit down on her lip, dissatisfied with the turn of events.

"She's completely exhausted," Kankuro speculated, voicing the noble's same morbid thoughts.

"And completely chakra-spent, too. But Saruno's barely broken a sweat. This isn't gonna end well for her at this rate."

As a resident of the Sand, Elysia knew she was _supposed _to be rooting for the home team... but her heart went out to the stubborn and defiant little girl, who reminded her so much of herself, and even more of her younger sister.

"Told you it wouldn't work," Karow chided, offering Hoshi a smug grin.

"Saruno's gonna make short work of this brat."

Saruno lunged forward, quickly sweeping the young kunoichi's legs out from under her. With a grunt, Asumi crumpled to the ground. Elysia's nail dug into her knees, biting at her skin when she witnessed the shinobi reach for the twin blades crossed at his back. He rammed both tanto blades into her chest, only to have her flutter to the wind, melting into flower petals at the moment of impact.

"A substitution..." Naruto murmured solemnly, his eyes prying themselves away from the fight long enough to cast Gaara a confident smirk.

"The Leaf won't lose to the Sand _that _easily, Gaara," He remarked.

The Kazekage chose to ignore him, and continued to observe the match in tight-lipped silence.

Unaffected by the substitution, Saruno straightened his posture, sheathing his blades as he gazed stoically around the arena. Vines broke through the ground, shattering the packed soil like glass. Coiling quickly up his legs, they engulfed the entire bottom half of his body in seconds. His angry eyes didn't even waver when the vines arched and drilled into his chest.

Elysia resisted the urge to cover her mouth with her hand, but was unable to keep her jaw from dropping in horror as she witnessed the boy be murdered. His body convulsed, squirming in vain as the very vines that held him tight broke through his torso and emerged through his back.

__

"That little girl... Was capable of this...?"

The noble instantly felt sick to her stomach, when a detail finally caught her eye.

__

"His blood..."

Squinting, she zeroed in on the match, and confirmed the lack of gore from what should have been present.

__

"He isn't bleeding..."

As if on cue, Saruno made a noise like a curt scoff, before grabbing ahold of the vines with both hands. The strange plants shot out thorns the size of kunai knives as if a defensive mechanism had suddenly been triggered. Though the thorns shredded his hands, he kept pulling the vines up and out of the ground. At the end of the greenery, Saruno confidently uprooted a shocked Asumi. The noble barely had time to register the child's terrorified eyes and see her mouth the silent word, "How?", before Saruno had one of his tanto blades in his hand as he released the vines. Relentlessly, a smug grin spread across his face before he brought the blade down on the girl. The weapon embedded itself in her shoulder, spraying both her and her opponent with her blood. She screamed in agony, and Elysia squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she watched Saruno free the blade from her and raise it above his head to strike a second time.

"That's enough!" Shikamaru's urgent voice shreiked out almost immediately.

He sprang between them, catching the bloodied blade in his hands a split moment before its impact. Glaring at the Jounin, Saruno sneered, jerking his weapon from the older man's grasp.

"The winner of the sixth match, Saruno," He spoke quickly, dropping to his knees beside of Asumi.

Having been amused by the noble's energetic reactions to the outcomes of the matches, Naruto and Kankuro both turned to Elysia with pre-emptive grins, expecting to her to rise and cheer once again.

Instead, she sat rooted to her seat, watching the medics carry Asumi from the arena in silence. When the child was out of sight, the noble's eyes found the pool of blood where the kunoichi had been lifted.

Angry, bitter thoughts raced through her mind, and a familiar hatred clawed its way into her heart. Hatred towards Saruno, for mercilessly nearly butchering the child. Towards Gaara, for forcing her to be here and watch the matches of people being beaten over and over again. And towards Naruto and Kankuro, for expecting her to find amusement out of this bloodbath.

The will to keep up the facade of enjoyment towards the festivities she considered ridiculous faded, and she clenched her teeth together in fury.

"What in the hell just happened?" She spat angrily.

"The girl had him... I saw it! She impaled him! He didn't even bleed! What kind of _monster_--?"

"It's his kekkei genkai," Kankuro interrupted promptly, gazing at her curiously.

Elysia's brow furrowed in confusion, her anger wavering.

"Kekkei... Genkai?"

"A bloodline limit," The puppeteer explained.

"An ability unique to a specific clan."

"And his ability allows him to live without blood?!"

"No," Kankuro chuckled, obviously amused with her confusion.

"Saruno can shift the organs, his blood vessels and even his blood to different parts of his body at will."

The noble was no medic, but something told her how wrong that was.

"Wouldn't that cause severe bruising from blood collecting under the skin?"

"Not for him, it doesn't. His clan uses their chakra to manipulate blood flow and even the position of organs."

His eyes scanned the young shinobi in question below him in subtle admiration.

"...And judging from the fight, he relocated even his heart to somewhere else in his body before the match had even begun."

"But his _blood_?" The noble persisted in horror.

"Apparently."

"What happens if his enemy figures out where he is hiding his organs... his blood... in his body and they... What if he is struck there?" Elysia asked hesitantly, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

Kankuro shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not bothered in the least at the thought.

"Severe hemorrhaging?" He suggested dully.

Elysia watched Saruno bring his blade to its sheath on his back in disgust. The urge to vomit returned to her, and she gripped the arms of her seat in anticipation of the fights she had yet to endure.

* * *

"Those were some good matches! The next generation of shinobi won't come close to being as good as _us_, but they'll get pretty damn close. What do you think, Temari?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes in exasperation, folding his arms across his chest.

"Two of her students just passed the Exams. What do you _think_ she thinks?!"

Offended, Naruto jutted his chin out defensively.

"Well, it isn't like _you_ had any students out there fighting."

A knowing frown flashed across Temari's face.

"Gaara advised he accept his own team of Genin, but the idiot declined."

The puppet master scoffed, shaking his head as he branched away from the small group.

"Where's he going?" Naruto demanded, turning to the man's older sister for an answer.

She shrugged, the frown on her lips deepening into her features.

"Probably to a bar... Or, to meet up with Kiba, in which case, that's where they'll end up," She surmised in distaste.

Glancing over at the noble, she rolled her eyes.

_"At least he doesn't have _her _this time."_

The young Hokage was stricken with a sudden stroke of genius, and he ran to the front of the group in excitement.

"Hey, hey guys! We should go to Ichiraku's!"

"Ramen again?" Gaara growled in protest.

"Yeah! Why not?"

"I've gotta go with Gaara on this one, Naruto," Temari remarked apologetically.

"I've had enough of ramen."

The blond's jaw dropped in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock.

"Enough of ramen?" He gasped.

Temari rolled her eyes at the shinobi's melodramatic reaction, ignoring the whining that ensued. Craning her neck, a resturaunt sign caught her attention.

"What about barbeque?" She suggested.

"I'm not hungry," The Kazekage grumbled, glaring up at the velet sky.

"Neither am I," Elysia voiced, speaking for the first time in hours.

Naruto took several steps away from the pair, cupping his hands around his mouth and leaning towards Temari.

"What's eating _them_?" He whispered, eyeing the two suspiciously.

Temari sighed, turning to the Hokage at a loss for words.

"Who knows. Come on, let's go get some barbeque."

"But I want _ramen_!"

"Don't push your luck."

Gaara refused to take the liberty to follow the shinobi, and Elysia stayed with him.

After being forced to watch underage children tear each other apart as they clamored for a chance to be granted a mere title, she was raring to start a fight of her own. Her heart screamed for someone to walk across her path (preferably a short, athletically-challenged woman) so that she could rip them to shreds herself, but her brain reasoned the consequences of such actions. In order to stop herself from taking said measures, she stayed with Gaara, as she knew she wouldn't be swinging any fists at _him_ anytime soon.

The noble rounded on the Kazekage, ready to demand that he take her back to the quarters in which they were staying during their visit in the Leaf. As their eyes locked, however, his eyes were attuned sharply to her already, and she swallowed hard, silently deciding to choose her words more carefully.

He, however, beat her to the punch and was the first to speak.

"Why aren't you eating?"

After a moment's hesitation,

"I feel ill," She replied honestly.

"Ill?" Gaara repeated, as if the very word were foreign to him.

His brows knitted together, and Elysia could feel her already all-too thin patience slipping further away.

"I do not have the stomach to watch a blood-fest such as those were," She explained bitterly.

Gaara arched a brow at her confession, turned to walk away as he waved for her to follow him.

"I thought you were enjoying yourself--"

He stopped abruptly, turning to her with a pensive stare. Elysia cringed as she noticed the familiar look of realization settle into his gaze.

"That child."

"They were all children," The noble argued, finally allowing her voice to be laced with the sorrow she felt.

"You don't understand the customs of shinobi," Gaara pressed defensively. "Once they bear their village's insignia, they are no longer sheltered children, like yourself. They are full-fledged ninja who protect."

A jolt of horror shocked her entire body.

_"... Sheltered children, like yourself."_

"... Sheltered...?" She heard her voice question.

It was as if a hand had reached inside of her chest and was sqeezing her heart, making her gasp for air out of the pain.

"... Is that was you think I am?"

Elysia rose her chin to meet his eyes, hardening her own gaze as not to let on the agony she felt. The Kazekage stared back at her coldly, his apathetic eyes silently daring her to question him on what it was like to be sheltered, to know pain.

And she knew that she couldn't argue the limits of knowing pain. Not with this man.

As a child, Katsuo had told the sisters stories of a monster who lived in the Hidden Sand village and ate children who misbehaved. He'd threatened to "call upon the beast", and bring him to the Stone if the girls didn't behave like well-mannered ladies. It wasn't until she was well into her teens that she learned that the "Monster" was in fact a boy who really existed.

She knew about the past of the so-called monster. Perhaps not everything there was to know, but at the very least, enough to know not to challenge him on the depths of what the meaning of the word "pain" was. A few deaths seemed so petty to him.

She began to grind her molars together furiously, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain that soon followed.

"I may not know the pain that you have... But that by no means suggests that I am, or ever was, sheltered, _Gaara_."

She spat out his title-less name with slight malice, hoping that it was subtle enough to save her from his wrath, but strong enough to get her point across to him.

The Kazekage merely held her gaze. Before she could place a name to the unfamiliar sheen in his eyes, he took a step closer to her, and she found her wrists clasped firmly in his hands.

"You want to argue with me," He confided in a low, raspy voice. "And I won't do it."

_Want_?

Who _wanted_ to argue with this man, who could crush waves of lethal shinobi with a single wave of his hand?

_"Not _this _noble, that is for damn sure."_

"I do not desire an argument with you," She whispered softly.

Her eyes darted from side to side, nervously scanning the wide open streets for potential spectators.

"I just... want you to understand."

Gaara nodded slowly. He shifted her wrists to a single hand.

"Man and wife are not supposed to verbally fight."

Elysia merely grinned, suppressing the urge to laugh and ask what married couple he'd had the pleasure of meeting.

"Well, we are not your typical engaged couple, are we, Lord Kazekage?"

The sand wielder shook his head, as a miraculous grin crept onto his lips.

"No. I don't suppose we are."

He turned to walk away, still holding her wrists in his increasingly crushing grasp. Elysia pulled experimentally on her arms, groaning when his fingers tightened around her wrist.

"Do you mind, Lord Kazekage?" She snapped.

Gaara glanced coolly at her, returning her sneer with a graceful smile of his own. This seemed to placate her all on its own, and she submitted to the feeling of his hands on her, figuring it would just be one of the many somethings she'd have to get herself used to, anyway.

_

* * *

_

I named Kurenai and Asuma's child "Asumi" for two reasons. Firstly, and most obviously, it so closely resembles "Asuma". Secondly, in Japanese, "Asumi" means "beautiful tomorrow". Considering the situation of Kurenai, Shikamaru and Asuma, I found the name very appropriate, and all-around perfect for the child.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you, to The One Who Is Too Lazy To Log In, for writing a review long enough to be a chapter all its own. Seriously, though. Sorry for the weekly updates sinking into monthly updates-- I'm up to my eyes in crap that will soon threaten to eat me alive. I'm hoping that after this week, things will simmer down a bit. And thanks so much for the reviews, everybody-- I'll try to suck it up and write these chapters quicker. :P Although I'm sorry that some of you die a little inside when it takes me forever to update, I can't help but admit that it makes me pleased to know that you think I'm doing that great of a job...

* * *

With the closure to the Chuunin Exams, the Sand's visit to the Leaf village came to an end. The young Kazekage was aching to get back to life as normal in his village, his home, back to his regular responsibilities...

A brief glance beyond his ajar door quickly corrected him.

Elysia hauled the strap of her bag across her chest, fighting Temari off one-handed for dominance over who would carry her burden.

_"Stubborn as a mule..."_

Wasn't that the very same phrase he himself was donned with time and time again?

A smile crossed his lips, and he shut his door as he closed his eyes.

_"No..."_

Things would not be normal again, he reminded himself, his rare smile quickly fading. Never again quite as "normal" as things once had been; not now, or not ever.

He would be married soon. He would have a family of his own to care for in time, aside from his brother and sister.

Naruto had tried to convince him to have the wedding ceremony here, in the Leaf village.

_"I've been away long enough," Gaara had answered, staring out the window in longing. "And I need to get back as soon as possible."_

_It was true that his very bones yearned to go home. It had seemed like an eternity since he'd last stood in that desert he'd only recently in his life started to call his "home"._

_The Hokage didn't understand, however, and crossed his arms across his chest, his lip puckering to signal the beginnings of a pout. Always the free spirit, the man loved the exhilaration of traveling to different places, both foreign and familiar, and Gaara's refusal to the Hokage's idea struck a chord._

_"Excuses," The blond scoffed angrily, waving his hand dismissively as he spoke. "You just wanna hog Elysia all to yourself."_

_At this, Gaara arched an eyebrow as he turned to his comrade, and Kankuro found the urge to laugh bubble from his throat. Although the sound never came, his lips still formed a generous smile._

_"Are you perhaps... _jealous_?"_

_The very word made the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. His head snapped in the the Kazekage's direction, mouth agape. Kankuro nudged his younger brother in an attempt to include him in on the joke. For once, Gaara shocked Kankuro, and obliged._

_"If I didn't know any better, Naruto, I'd say that you had hopes to steal my woman."_

_Naruto cringed, not realizing the bait Gaara had thrown. Flustered, blood filled the Hokage's face, his blue eyes wide as he took the bait, hook, line and sinker._

_"N-n-no! N-not at all, G-Gaara! Wouldn't ever think of it!!"_

Gaara chuckled at the thought, suddenly wondering when his sense of humor had expanded to beat out Naruto's.

Resting his elbow against the window pane, he gazed curiously at the pair walking on the road below him. They were young; a man and a woman advancing at a snail's pace, and yet, they seemed content. Their fingers were laced together, their palms pressed firmly together, when the male turned to his feminine companion. He freed his hand from hers, he cupped her face in both of his hands with all the delicacy one might take when handling glass. His mouth scarcely moved as he began to speak to her, making the Kazekage strain his eyes to decipher the words being spoken. Before he could know for sure what had been said, the man leaned forward, pressing his lips to the woman's.

It wasn't as if it was a scene Gaara hadn't witnessed before. The couple were in love-- rather, they _thought _they were in love-- and by putting their mouths together, like some primal ritual, that was somehow supposed to express their love for one another. To say that he didn't understand it was the understatement of the year, but he never dwelled on it long.

This ocassion was no different.

A pounding rythm on his door quickly reminded him where he was, and his gaze flitted towards the sound.

"Gaara," Kankuro's voice called through the wooden barrier separating them. "You just about ready to leave?"

"Yeah," Was Gaara's simplistic reply, heaving his body from the window.

He cast one final look down to where the young couple had previously been.

They were gone.

* * *

The week and a half spent away from the Sand had flown by, but not without reprecussion. It had taken its toll on her body, the noble soon learned, and she felt that she were traveling to the Hidden Sand for the first time again.

Elysia wiped at her forehead as she sighed, the heat gripping her and slowly suffocating her. Having been watching her like a hawk for the past few miles, the young sand user made up his resolve. With a quick shrug, Gaara allowed the strap of his gourd to slide off of his shoulder, the container sinking to the sand with a dull thud. Kankuro froze instantly, turning to his younger brother with eyes etched with confusion.

"Gaara?"

"We rest here."

"What?" The puppeteer questioned in disbelief.

He rose his hand, pointing at the horizon in the distance.

"We still have a good day and a half's journey ahead of us. We don't have time for taking leisurely breaks."

Despite his arguement, Gaara's feet were rooted firmly to the ground, his arms crossed stubbornly as his gaze settled into a glare. He pried his eyes from his brother, and stared calmly at the exhausted noble trudging up beside of him. Temari took a step closer to Kankuro, nodding affirmatively in Gaara's defense.

"He's right, Kankuro. Elysia's body isn't trained to withstand this kind of travel, especially in extreme conditions like this desert, like ours are. She's exhausted. We _have _to stop and rest."

Wordlessly, Kankuro allowed himself to cave to his siblings, and reached for the clasp on his back. The scrolls fell to the sand, strap and all, as he slid down to the sand on his stomach. Elysia wanted to cry with relief, but she restrained herself and and instead resorted to crumpling into a heap. She closed her eyes and drew her eyebrows together, but her actions did little for her body, which still felt as if it were set aflame. It wasn't the exertion of the travel that had drained her and was now killing her; it was the severe heat.

Suddenly, a damp cloth was dropped onto her face. She gasped in shock, grasping ahold of the material in her hands and jerking it from her face as she sat up boltright. Her eyes srang open, staring in surprise at an amused Temari.

"Looked like you could have used it."

The kunoichi shook the canteen in her hands, and water sloshed inside the walls of the container. Elysia smiled gratefully at her, before lying back down and draping the cloth back over her face.

"Thank you," She mumbled softly as she closed her eyes once again.

* * *

_Click click click._

Elysia's eyelids fluttered as she was slowly drawn back into the world of reality.

_Click clickclick click._

"What the..."

Eyes springing open as her heart kick-started at the sound, she inhaled sharply at the face inches from hers. The man's jaw slowly fell open a sound emitting from him.

_Click click._

She scrambled to her knees and backed away from the man, all evidence that she'd been asleep only a moment ago gone. The noble's first impulse was to scream, the man's mouth breaking into a wide grin.

_Click clickclick._

Thin, silverly-blue flickers of light through the desert night caught her eye, and her gaze shot to the source. She sighed a breath of relief to see the black-clad puppeteer chuckle softly.

"That's not funny, you idiot."

A blond konoichi hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously into slits as she glared at her younger brother, not half as amused as he. Her hands went to her hips, and her slanted hips cocked to the side as she transitioned into a full-fledged bitch mode.

"What if she'd screamed, or freaked out or something? Don't pull something like that on her. You'll really scare her one of these times, and you're going to regret it when Gaara puts his foot up your ass."

The darkness obscured the noble's vision, but she could imagine the Kankuro rolling his eyes as he completely disregarded his elder sister's lectures. She turned and gazed up at Temari, with eyes rimmed so darkly, she almost rivaled Gaara. Her lips were pressed into a thin line of constrained anger, her jaw set forward furiously. Elysia tried not to laugh as she envisioned Temari having been woken up in a way similar to the way that she had, only not taking the prank with the same grace. She focused her sights on the puppet a few feet before her. Light red hair framed a pale face and dull brown eyes. It was cloaked in a dark hood common in the desert, but the puppet seemed oddly _human_.

"Lord Kankuro... That is your puppet?"

He'd work diligently for hours on end in that basement at their castle of a home, but never had he allowed her to so much as catch a glimpse of the projects he worked on down there. She assumed that this construct was one of his latest creations.

The noble vaguely saw Kankuro nod affirmatively.

"What is its name?"

"Sasori."

Temari stirred uneasily next to her, but the tensity passed just as quickly.

"It is... interesting. It looks human. It is kind of intimidating."

"Human?" Kankuro droned.

His head craned, picking a spot in the sky and studying it with intense determination.

"Nah."

Elysia nodded in understanding, swirving her head around her in search of something else now that she was wide awake. She quickly found her quarry, laid on his back calmly, his eyes closed.

"I see you did not wake up Gaara with Sasori," She laughed, already knowing the obvious reasoning behind that.

"Don't wanna die just yet. Besides, he's not asleep."

Elysia squinted at the man as she began her quest to refute Kankuro's statement, but it was no good. The night was pitch-black, and her visability was practically nonexistent. She shifted her weight to her knees and her palms as she began to crawl towards the Kazekage. Upon reaching her intended destination, she hoovered over him a moment before leaning forward, waving her hand over his closed eyelids.

"That's not the most intelligent thing I've ever seen someone do," Kankuro warned.

The noble dismissed his words, and recieved her consequence for her actions. His eyes shot open in a hardened stare, and the noble gasped as she made a beeline for the puppet. Kankuro howled with laughter.

"Told you so!"

"Gaara doesn't sleep," Temari murmured to the noble, her voice narrowly masking a yawn.

"Does not sleep?" The noble repeated in shock.

"How can you not sleep?"

"He has insomnia."

"He cannot sleep... ever?"

"He tries, but..."

Temari's voice cracked and faded, and she sighed.

"... he can't. End of story."

Elysia blinked, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Gaara slowly rose to his feet, reaching for the strap of his gourd propped in the sand beside of him, and with Temari's silence, the noble deemed the "conversation" over.

"If you three are done fooling around, then let's go," The Kazekage droned, slinging the sand container over his back.

"Right, Gaara," Temari obediently responded, falling into step behind Kankuro as the sand siblings resumed their trek.

Shaking her head, Elysia followed the koniochi, and a shiver rocked her small frame as a bone-chilling wind began to blow. Small bumps ran across the surface of her skin, and she folded her arms across her chest, hugging her icy elbows.

"I hate the desert," She grumbled absent-mindedly.

"Well, I'd say that you're hanging with the wrong family," Temari scoffed ahead of her.

"I mean the extremes," The noble took the liberty of explaining.

"During the day, you sweat your weight in perspiration. At night, though, you freeze your ass off."

"Stop whining," Gaara's commanding tone ordered sharply, ending all current conversation immediately.

Elysia promptly stuck her tongue out at his back, sneering at his intolerance. She tucked her arms in closer to her body, going as far as to jog up to Temari for any body heat she could possibly absorb.

The four traveled until Elysia's body went numb with cold, the flimsy cloak serving to do little against the relentless howling wind. She cast her eyes to the back of Gaara's head, willing him to stop and lay down his gourd like he had during the day and call that they rest and regain the body heat they'd lost.

Instead, Kankuro made a suggestion that made Elysia want to throw herself at him in frustration.

"We're not making very good time. Why don't we pick up the pace?"

"She can barely keep up with us now," Temari pointed out as she whispered to her brother, jerking her thumb back in the noble's direction.

"If we go any faster, we'll leave her in the desert."

Kankuro groaned loudly, casting Elysia a menacing glare as he spoke, uncaring whether or not the woman heard him.

"She's such a liability."

The noble pursed her lips in anger, unwilling to let the potential insult slide.

"Yes, _I _am the liability. Mine are the ones whose people are dying in the place of yours, so your shinobi can have a chance to relish in the lap of luxary while you selfish leaders flourish in your senseless bloodbath you like to call a war."

Gaara's pace faultered, his head snapped to the side as he glared at her from the corner of his eye. For the first time in weeks, the noble felt her cheeks frow hot with the fear that she'd made him rise up in anger.

"_Your _country was the ones who asked for help. Don't push their incompetant dependence off on _my _village."

She knew better by now not to argue with the man, for she wouldn't win. Instead, she hung her head as her flushed faced continued to burn, while in her mind, she threw herself at the red head without the sand to protect him. In her head, she was beating him to the brink of death in a fit of humiliation, and his siblings were nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Four and a half days!"

Kankuro angrily unclasped the scrolls from his back and threw his bag onto a vaccant chair in the corner of the room in a fit of rage. In his fury, his aim was askew, and the bag clipped a precariously stacked mountain of books, earning him a glare from his younger brother in which the puppeteer boldly ignored.

"Four and a half damn days."

He mumbled the words to himself repeatedly, shaking his head in disbelief at the inconvenience.

"We had Elysia with us," Temari reasoned softly.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed," The puppet master shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It isn't her fault."

"Shoulda shipped her ass back three weeks ahead of us. Sent her on with a squad of shinobi. Yeah... That would have worked."

Temari rolled her eyes in exasperation, sighing heavily as she did so.

"You're overreacting."

"It takes three days, Temari. I've escorted Gaara to the Leaf in a little less than that--not that he _needs _an escort. But a day and a half extra... That's rediculous. That's half the trip tacked onto the original duration. We shoulda been back two damn days ago, but instead, we were wasting our time pissing around back--"

"Shut up," Gaara ordered venomously.

The Kazekage's lip curled back over his teeth, and Kankuro froze, his jaw hanging open in mid-rant. Slowly, he nodded, his mouth still hanging wide open, as he inched closer to the door. Temari sighed again, dismissing herself as she announced her intended destination.

"We have a wedding to plan, right? I'll get on that. Lord Tyjumae of the Stone will want to attend, I'm assuming."

"Whatever," Gaara snapped, stacking the books back into their rightful place.

"Right. I'll, uh... Just get things rolling."

She ducked out of the room before Kankuro could move another step towards the door, but was gone only moments later. Gaara glared at the cover of one particularly brightly-colored novel, his lips etched into a frown.

He didn't like to listen to his siblings whine about what was to him, pointless. He didn't like this whole marriage idea. He didn't like the thought of things changing inconveniently for him. But most of all, he didn't like the letter he'd just received from intelligence in the River Country.

While away from the village, the council ran the Land of Wind, but also kept the Kazekage's extended absence under wraps from much of the country. If word got out that the Sand's Kazekage was away from the village, the enemy would have had a field day pillaging the land.

While away, hpwever, the Earth had sent a letter to the Kazekage, only to have the councils be so very courteous and not only read the letter, but also form their own method of action against the news.

And now, Gaara had to go and sit in on their incessant arguing.

"We must cut off ties with the Land of Earth at once!" One man exclaimed the second Gaara walked through the door.

"We have no chance without--!"

"It wasn't as if the Tsuchikage himself was taken hostage," Sukuzi argued calmly, forcing his powerful voice rising above the others' bickering.

"The Lords have nothing to do with--"

"But we have his _daughter _here!" Another insisted.

"If she finds out--"

"She won't," Gaara clarified firmly.

"Don't speak a word of this to her."

"Lord Kazekage! That doesn't solve our current problems!"

"Her knowledge of this situation could complicate matters further," Sukuzi agreed thoughtfully.

"Lord Kazekage is right. It is best were the woman not to be any the wiser of her father's abduction."

"We need to find Lord Tyjumae," An elderly woman insisted, her grey eyes glinting against her suntanned skin.

"Not only would it put the Earth back on track without fretting over their lost noble, think of what the gesture would mean to them. For us. Their loyalty would be as good as assured. We'd have another reliable ally for a long time to come, well after this war has ended."

"Finding their Lord garuntees _nothing_," Ichizo spat, pounding his fist on the table.

"Were it _our _Lord, who is to say they would help us?"

"But Ichizo, that isn't the point here. Regardless of thinking how circumstances would be were the table turned against us, we must only think of what _could _come of this. We have nothing to lose from this opportunity but regret from a chance not taken."

Sukuzi's gaze met Gaara's,silent asking consent, to which the young sand used quickly obliged.

"I will send a squad out to look for Tyjumae once we have a lead as to his whereabouts, and will send a request to the Leaf for them to do the same."

"You want to wait for _leads_?! By that time, it may be too late!"

"There's no point in rushing this senselessly," Temari answered, speaking from the wall she'd been listening from.

"They kidnapped the Lord and only him. There's a reason for that; they'll want a ransom, or something. We can't exactly make a move until _they _do. They're going to contact the Land of Earth, and since we have his daughter here in the Sand, it's likely that the enemy will contact _us_, too. To get to Elysia. And when they do, we'll form a plan around that. Until then... There's nothing we can do for Lord Tyjumae."


	11. Chapter 11

"Elysia..."

The noble ignored her soon to be brother-in-law's urgent murmuring, his mouth barely moving against her ear. His breath tickled her sensitive lobes, and her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at him out of the corner of her eyes. For the image they so dearly coveted, she smiled innocently as she rose her glass to her red-painted lips again.

"Cheers," She spoke, her voice bubbling in the drink.

Kankuro sighed heavily, casting a quick glance at his surroundings before screeching his chair across the tile floor to sit closer to Elysia.

"Put that sh--"

"Language!" The noble piped happily, giggling into her glass. Momentarily fumbling the glass, she shook an accusing finger at the puppeteer. "You know what Temari said."

"--_crap_. Put that _crap _down. _Now_."

"I do not think so."

"You're gonna get me _killed_."

"Then I wish you the best in the afterlife."

The noble emptied the last of the amber liquid of the glass onto her awaiting tongue. Reaching for the bottle instinctively for a refill, her slender fingers swiped at the air. She frowned at the lack of the bottle's materialization, and in her dull haze, she noticed the very bottle she was looking for in Kankuro's hands, his fingers drumming on the neck of the flask. A soft, melodramatic sob rippled in her throat.

"Please do not do this to me, Kankuro..."

"If I have to face these guys sober, then so do you. We can't have you falling all over the place all night."

Elysia groaned in disappointment. The one time she actually wanted to drink herself into a numb, incomprehensible stupor, and she was being denied.

"Can you kill me now, then, please?"

"Sorry."

"I did not think so," She sighed in defeat.

Elysia studied her reflection in the wine glass, frowning again. The alcohol had clouded her mind slightly, but a glass and a half hadn't been nearly enough to take her to the place she'd wanted to go.

She had wanted to forget all about her pale face, painted to impress bystanders and councilmen alike. She had wanted to forget all about her arranged marriage to a man she vaguely knew, and what she _did _know about him, she didn't like. He didn't care one bit about her. He only cared for his image in the eyes of the council, of _his _village.

That seemed to be the case with all political figures of authority.

A hand brushed a stray curl beside her temple behind her ear, and the noble jumped, turning to its owner.

"An hour or so more," The konoichi informed her. "then we can get this show on the road."

"How long is this going to last?" The noble found herself blurting out, earning her a harsh glare from the blond.

Drinking alcohol, even in small portions, seemed to short-circuit her brain-mouth coordination.

"Until the councils are satisfied," Temari snapped heatedly, removing her hand from the noble's hair. "If they want us to stay here until this time next week, then that's exactly what's going to happen."

"Oh, _joy_."

"Behave yourself," She commanded fiercely, her eyes narrowing into slits. "One social misstep--"

Elysia waved her had dismissively, ambling to her feet.

"I am the queen of social bull-craping. You have nothing to worry about."

"I sure hope so."

With a final pat on Kankuro's shoulder, Temari disappeared into the crowd of waiters and decorators alike. He groaned, propping his index and middle fingers against his temple, his thumb gently massaging his jawline.

"I get the sinking feeling this is going to be a long night," He muttered, his eyelids dropping down to the container of alcohol in his hands as he contemplated taking a few dozen sips himself. Elysia sighed, nodding in agreement before she rested her chin on the back of a chair.

"You and me both, _brother_."

* * *

Back in the Stone, Elysia would have been permitted to get away with the surliest actions. She had been able to sneak out of any meeting or get-together; not even her own birthday was an exception to her escapes. It was all a farce to get on the good sides of the nobles, anyway, she knew.

But now, it was as if Kankuro and Temari were targeting her carefully, making sure she never left the central room of the place. Even when neither sibling was anywhere in sight...

Elysia darted for the door the second Temari rose a finger to the noble, gesturing sternly at her as she warned, "Stay right here. _Don't move_."

A foot from the door frame, a man clothed in a ridiculous costume of orange and neon pink stripes danced in front of her, giggling as he pressed a finger to the mask in front of his face. The face of the mask was pinched towards its nose in the manner of a cat, whiskers painted on either side. He had a good foot on her height, but the noble persisted, attempting to weasel around him. With a gleeful snicker, he snatched Elysia's shoulders and spun her around, her back to him, as he gave her a rough shove in the opposite direction. She stumbled, catching herself on the wall, stopping her momentum. Pursing her lips, she drew her lips back from her teeth furiously, spinning to turn and swear at the odd tiger-man.

Instead, she came face to face with another man as the tiger-clad clown spun away, and blanched.

Instantly suspicious of her, doubled over, teeth bared, and eyes wide in shock, he narrowed his eyes. The young Kazekage looked less like a man about to be wed, and more like one who had been in a fight recently. His hair was disheveled, more so than usual, falling in his eyes in all the wrong places and masking his ears from sight. Cold eyes drilled into her, filled with an angry impatience.

"What did you do this time?" He demanded in his raspy, unwelcoming voice.

Some defensive mechanism clicked in Elysia, and her posture straightened instantly.

"Nothing!" She insisted, offended. "Where have you been, anyway? Do you not have to stand here and suffer with the rest of us?"

The sand user's eyes softened slightly, scanning the crowd of gossipers and party-goers-- all having the time of their life, as far as Gaara was concerned.

"I see no suffering here."

"_Hello_?" The noble waved her hands feverishly in front of her, before pointing to herself.

The Kazekage arched a brow at her.

"Oh?"

"I am bored out of my mind here!"

"How unfortunate for you," Gaara droned, uninterested as his eyes continued to search the crowd.

Folding her arms across her chest, she scoffed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Temari returned loyally to her side once more, handing the noble a glass filled with a dark purple liquid. Doubting the kunoichi's carelessness, she cautiously sniffed the contents of the glass, frowning as her thoughts were confirmed.

_"Grape juice."_

"Where's Kankuro?" Gaara demanded of his sister, failing to pay her a single glance as he picked the crowd apart for his brother.

"Not sure. Have you checked his room?"

He nodded wordlessly, his frown deepening as his options narrowed.

"The basement? I told him not to go, but he might be trying to squeeze in a few more moments to work on Sa--"

The door slammed shut behind the Kazekage before the kunoichi finished, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. Temari sighed, and Elysia sneered at the door in distaste.

"And you are making me _marry _that ray of sunshine? What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"Don't even start," Temari snapped, curtly sipping from her own glass.

She waved her hand to the crowd, and gestured for Elysia to walk into the abyss first. Groaning, the noble reluctantly obeyed, trudging first into the sea of people who were here to observe her wedding, and yet barely knew her name.

* * *

"Are you still sulking?"

A slender finger reached out, prodding the noble's cheek experimentally. With a low growl, Elysia briskly swatted the kunoichi's hand away. Temari threw her head back, laughing.

"Go to hell," The noble spat curtly, edging away from the woman.

Temari took no offense to the comment, brushing her words off as if they had never been spoken. Chuckling, Kankuro's gaze flickered to the door as it opened, watching Gaara slip back into the room. Like usually happened whenever he stepped into a room, a few girls squealed with unrestrained delight. Although it wasn't nearly as bad as if the Kazekage was out in the open, the man still had his fair share of fangirls lingering in this house.

Kankuro rose his arm, waving casually to his brother in the distance. As Gaara joined them, the puppet master draped his arm around his brother's shoulders, steering him away from the pair of females behind them.

"So, how're you feeling, Gaara?"

Furrowing his brows, the sand wielder shook his head.

"No different than usual."

"You're gonna be a married man in about an hour. Feet aren't going cold on you, are they?"

Gaara's eyes shot down to his feet, eyes wide open in mock bewilderment.

"No," He reassured his older brother, lifting his chin to hold his gaze again.

Kankuro roared with laughter, and the corners of even Gaara's lips curved upwards.

"I swear, this is a form of hell," Temari scoffed, waving her hand between the two soon-to-be husband and wife. "When one of you are in a good mood, the other is on the verge of murder."

"Go. To. Hell." Elysia repeated slowly, bringing her glass of grape juice angrily to her lips, glaring daggers at the kunoichi out of the corner of her eyes.

"You kidding?" Kankuro snickered, throwing his arm around his younger brother. "We're all one big happy family."

Rolling her eyes, Temari shook her head and turned away from them, skirting her way back through the growing crowd. Gaara shrugged Kankuro from him, offering Elysia a curious glance.

"She's pissed that you were pissed," The puppet master generously informed the Kazekage.

Furrowing his brow, Gaara's gaze shifted to his brother.

"What?"

"Temari told me all about how you were a royal thorn up her ass when you came looking for me about councilman Ichizo."

The red head's fingers twitched at his sides.

"I hate that bastard."

The words slipped from his tongue before he realized what had said, and was surprised with his audacity.

Kankuro, however, was less surprised, and more amused, throwing his head back and howling with laughter loud enough to draw curious onlookers. He slapped his brother playfully on the back, nodding enthusiastically.

"So does everybody else, Gaara."

The conversation struck a chord with the Kazekage, and his eyes widened as his head whipped around in search of the members of the council.

"Gaara...?" Kankuro questioned uneasily, his grin fading.

"Ichizo and Sukuzi. They wanted to meet Elysia."

Kankuro scoffed, offering the noble female a sideways glance. She rapped her fingers on the stem of the glass, glaring down into the drink.

"While she's in bitch mode? You really think that's a good idea?"

The red head's mouth opened, prepared to reply.

"Lord Kazekage."

"Speak of the devil," Kankuro hissed before slapping a fake smile onto his face and turning to greet the pair weaving their way towards them.

Gaara, however, wasn't as courteous, turning to the councilmen with a stoic demeanor. Ichizo's face was flushed a dark shade of pink, his breathing being kept even only by means of sheer will force. An identical thought of vain smugness at the councilman's obvious discomposure crossed both of the brothers' minds. Ichizo exhaled sharply, before opening his mouth to speak.

"Our apologies for any disturbance our presence here might invoke," Sukuzi quickly intervened with a curt wave of his hand before Ichizo had a chance to speak, causing him to bristle silently, "Ichizo and I meant only to inquire about your Leaf friends."

"_Friends_, indeed," Ichizo seethed quietly to himself, placing angry emphasis on the word 'friends'.

Kankuro's lip curved back over his teeth in the makings of a snarl, taking a step forward as he balled his hands into fists at his side. Gaara swiftly, subtly held his hand out in font of his elder brother, stopping him abruptly in his tracks. Heaving a sigh, he rose his gaze to look Sukuzi in the eyes, already knowing where to place the blame for the council's current irritability.  
"What has Naruto done this time?"

* * *

"_Booze_!! They've got booze!"

"Pace yourself, Naruto," Sakura sighed, running a hand through her pink hair.

"I'm not making any promises there, Sakura," The Hokage snickered, reaching for the laddel sinking in a bowl, chuckling in his excitement as he poured the amber liquid into a glass.  
He brought the glass to his lips, grinning... only to spit the drink out on some poor, unsuspecting woman's heels.

"Egh!" Naruto gasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, spitting on the ground in an attempt to rid his tongue of the taste.

The woman screeched in horror, and began to flail her hands wildly in his general direction. Sakura quickly swiped the glass from the blond as he parried the oncoming attacks from the appalled woman. Bringing the cup to her nose, she sniffed at the beverage, then held it away at arm's length, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the scent. Abandoning both the cup and the Hokage, Sakura placed the glass beside the bowl. She turned, shaking her head at the blonde's predicament, only to stop short of running into a broad chest, clad in black.

"Looks like Naruto's having fun," He teased, folding his arms across his chest as his brother joined him, watching Naruto with increasing interest.

"_Fun_?" The red head repeated, an amused grin spreading across his face. "I wouldn't quite call it that..."

Stepping forward, he began to calm the rampaging woman, his grin betraying his peaceful intentions. Kankuro sighed, shaking his head at Gaara's attempt at playing liaison.

"Now _you're _ruining _our _fun, Gaara."

* * *

"Have you seen Elysia?"

The konoichi's hands were shivering in the presence of her dark-haired brother, her eyes shiftily darting back and forth as she kept a wary eye out for her more intimidating sibling. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and one sneaky droplet sliped down, dripping from her chin. Despite her obvious distress, a wide grin spread across Kankuro's face.

"You mean you _lost _her?"

Temari pressed her fingers firmly to her brother's lip, glaring furiously at him as she seethed. She cast a glance over shoulder, as if mentioning the blunder may cause Gaara to suddenly materialize, that all-too familiar livid stare in his light eyes. Kankuro laughed, grasping hold of his sister's fingers in his hand as he brushed them from his mouth.

"Relax, I'm just screwing with you. She's wandering around outside somewhere."

"_Alone_?"

Temari bristled, her hands balling into fists at her side.

"Sure, why not?"

She rose her fists threateningly, and Kankuro quickly laughed again, lifting his palms in silent surrender.

"Kidding, kidding! She's with Kakashi."

The menacing glare remained in her eyes, although her shoulders slumped in relief. Unclenching her fists, she wiped her sweaty palms on her hips.

"Kakashi's here?"

"Apparently. Came with Naruto and Sakura."

"Anyone else I should be aware of?" Temari droned bitterly, her eyes already scanning the dense crowd for faces from the Leaf village.

The flow of guests had finally receeded. Any moment now, the council would hunt down the bride and groom, and demand a wedding.

"... No," The puppet master answered hesitantly, silently beginning to question the reason for the konoichi's change in temper again. "It's just those three."

Testing his boundaries, he decided to press the matter.

"Why's it matter?"

"Naruto shouldn't be leaving his village so casually like he has been doing," Temari muttered. "Especially not in times of war like this. Gaara's only left his village three times since he became Kazekage six years ago, with the exception of attending the Chuunin Exams. Naruto's left his village three times in the past month alone. I'm not sure he's acting in the best interests of his village."

"According to Sakura, Elysia and Naruto really hit it off quick," Kankuro added thoughtfully, cupping his chin in his right hand. "And besides, he wouldn't miss Gaara's wedding for the world, arranged or not."

"That's beside the point," Temari argued, her temper beginning to flare again. "Naruto can't afford to leave his village without its Kage!!"

"He leaves his village in the capable hands of his shinobi. You and I both know they're not to be taken lightly. Guy, Lee, the Hyuuga... "

He allowed his voice to trail, hoping his stressed sister would see his view and accept it. He was fully aware that she was most likely overworked with the wedding, with the war, with everything... and unable to take the pressure as well as Gaara pretended to.

Sighing, he handed his wine glass off to her sister, patting her on the back as she stared at the cup in confusion.

"Here, Temari. You need this way more than _I _do."

He disappeared into the sea of people. Furrowing her brow, Temari sniffed the drink Kankuro had left in her possession, and wrinkled her nose at the strong scent that wafted into her nose.

_"Alcohol..."_

Shrugging her shoulders, she abandoned the glass on the closest table to her, and set off to find Gaara, who would inevitably be summoned soon to become a husband.

* * *

"His name was Shikuza Nara."

The noble's skin began to crawl, as if a horde of spiders had been set loose on her flesh.

"A friend of yours?" She murmured, unable to keep the animosity from her tone.

"No," Kakashi answered bluntly.

Elysia's pace faltered, nearly tripping over her feet in surprise. Quickly regaining her composure, she hurried back to Kakashi's side.

"That shadow user wasn't a friend of yours?"

"We were placed on the same squad by order of the Hokage," The Jounin explained softly.

His eyes were fastened onto his open book, but his eyes lingered in the same spot it had been for quite some time. He hadn't turned the page for several minutes.

"He was a teammate of mine. A fellow shinobi."

"On a mission to kill Lord Tsuchikage, and my family," Elysia concluded softly. "Topple over my village's hold on power. Tilt the scale in the Leaf's favor."

Kakashi kept his silence, and he turned a page in his book.

"Why tell me about Shikuza?" The noble finally murmured.

The Jounin's lips twitched, and his eyes fixed themselves aimlessly on the page again.

"Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back."

Elysia froze on the street, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing," Kakashi muttered, a fraction of a grin creeping onto his lips, and he glanced up at the towering building that was the home of the sand siblings. Shadows flickered inside, as people moved across the window, momentarily shielding the outside from the light within. "Come on. I'd say it won't be too long now. It would be a pity to be late to your own wedding, now, wouldn't it?"

* * *

"There you are, Gaara."

The Kazekage arched an inquisitive brow at his sister.

"Here I am?"

Temari climbed the final few steps onto the rooftop, scowling at her brother's solitude. She let the door fall shut after her, her lips curving into a disapproving frown.

"What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

"Is it starting?"

"Not yet, but..."

Gaara turned away from her, dropping his arm back over his knee as he sat near the edge of the roof.

"You make us incorporate Elysia into this life she doesn't know, and yet you hide from it?"

"Don't preach to me," Gaara growled. "I never wanted anything like this."

"I know," Temari sighed, crouching down beside of the young Kazekage. "Don't think any of us did."

Gaara remained silent a moment longer, before shaking his head lightly.

"I meant this... _festival_. It's just that it's..."

"Over the top?" The konoichi finished for him, a smile breaking across her face. "It's wonderful, right?"

The red head grunted in response, rolling his eyes. Temari's smile faded, quickly replaced with a frown.

"What, you don't like it?"

"_This_," He murmured, waving his hand at the sea of people inhabiting the premises, "was all your doing. You and Kankuro were the ones who wanted to orchestrate all this." Raising his head to the sky, shrouded in sand clouds that masked the night, he shifted, resting his palm on his knee. "Had I had my own way, Elysia and I would have merely had a two minute wedding ceremony, and that would have been the end of it."

"Two minutes isn't a ceremony," Temari huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Sorry," Gaara mumbled, resting his eyes on a pair walking on the street below him. "I just can't get into something like this. I don't like it."

Temari bristled, brushing off his empty apology.

"And after I worked so hard, too..."

"Sorry," He repeated insincerely.

"But seriously, Gaara."

Temari rose to her feet, hesitating a moment before extending her hand to her brother, who in turn stared blankly at her outstretched fingers.

"We've got to go. You're still the man of the hour, like it or not."

"'_Hour_'?" Gaara scoffed humorlessly, rising to his feet on his own without Temari's aid.

"Don't _even_, Gaara."

* * *

"Holy _shit_, Elysia!"

A feminine voice was screeching relentlessly in the noble's ear, and she scowled angrily, whirling around on the woman, a furious glint in her eye.

"_What_?" She demanded furiously, coming toe-to-toe with a red faced Temari.

"What in the hell happened to your make-up?"

Elysia's hands were at her hair in the blink of an eye, yanking madly, provoking Temari's maddening howls.

"_Don't screw that up_! We worked on your hair for hours, or don't you remember?"

"How could I not?!" Elysia howled miserably, recalling the time wasted as an army of perfectionist women dabbed at her face gingerly, while others jerked and yanked at her hair, stripping follicles loose of her scalp.

"Then stop touching it!"

The konoichi's attention flitted from the noble's hair back to her face, and moaned aloud at the train-wreck.

"Why do I try? I honestly don't know..."

Temari ambled over to the edgy noble, continuing to mumble aimlessly to herself, screaming once for the skittish Setsuko. The woman slunk into the room, her head bowed in shame as if she'd done something horrible.

"Help me fix this mess," She barked, pointing a slender finger to Elysia.

The woman's extremity lingered in front of the princess' face a bit too long, and she fought hard to restrain the urge to bite.

Setsuko's demeanor perked up immediately the moment she realized that she was not the blunt of ridicule this time around, and practically skipped over to the noble, a wide smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Fight as she may, the two women inevitably got the better of the bride. Poked and prodded with a variety of utensils, Temari deemed her "presentable" after a forty-five minutes... Not counting the next half an hour it took to weasel the noble into her wedding kimono.

As she had expected, her groom failed to notice any remarkable difference in her. Unsure if she was pleased or insulted by his ignorance, she folded her arms across her chest and commenced pouting, until Kankuro delivered an especially brutal flick to her exposed forearm. Whimpering, Temari glowered dangerously at her, silently commanding she shut her trap before she joined Kankuro, and a hail of flicking rain down on every inch of bare skin.

Not long after the whimpering subsided, the two eldest siblings deserted the two "lovebirds". A elderly man in a black robe began to speak to the two of them, as the crowd around them rippled in and out of her vision. The noble ignored him and the crowding, clapping and sighing romantically as appropriate. Ignored Gaara apathetically staring her down intently, like a hawk might patiently watch its unsuspecting prey. Temari and Kankuro, lingering mere feet away, looking on in apprehension, as if expecting something to go wrong.

She embraced the numbness of the moment, smiling softly as jumbled murmurs surrounded her, failing to hold any significance to her. Numb, just the way she'd prefer.

Until a vaguely familiar shape leaned forward, covering her mouth with something rough and rugged, like torn bits and pieces of sandpaper.

Gasping, she moved to fail her arms, only to have them swiftly pinned to her side. Her gaze came back into focus once again, her world of numbness abruptly shattered.

Gaara released her as he pulled away from her, staring blankly as he stepped back. She held his gaze firmly, grinding her teeth together in both fury and horror.

A chorus of claps resounded, echoing in the room, followed by idle chatter and a volley of congratulations.

Her eyes fell down to her hand, on which a ring was now placed like a band of slavery, wondering when in her stupor that had gotten there.

With grim satisfaction, she noted the very same enslaving band on her husband's ring finger, and more than anything else that had happened since she'd lived in the Sand, that gave her the strongest sense of vindication.


	12. Chapter 12

At first, the noble thought nothing of the sudden cease in the flow of letters her and her father had exchanged. He was an old man, and something so trivial to him had most likely slipped his mind.

Still, the thought struck a chord, and it stung much more than she would have imagined.

_"Does he really care so little... as to forget entirely...?"_

"Any mail for me, Setsuko?" Elysia inquired the maid.

The woman had just returned from the world outside the renewed noble's safe, protected environment in which the sand siblings still advised against her going out into. They didn't enforce their calm suggestion, and didn't even force her to travel with an entourage, but more recommended she stay inside altogether. The noble refused, and, to her surprise, no one made any move to force her to obey. Which took the adrenaline out of rebelliously going outside very, _very _quickly.

The maiden shook her head quickly, her cropped sandy blond hair swaying in her light brown eyes.

"No, mi'lady. Nothing." The curious girl hesitated as she built up her nerve, taking notice of the noble's dejected, sagging shoulders as she pressed the question. "Why? Are you... expecting something in particular?"

Forcing a smile onto her lips, Elysia laughed softly, as if the idea of expecting any form of outside communication was absurd. Ludicrous.

"No," She lied. "just curious."

Setsuko nodded skeptically, but not possessing the guts to question the woman again. Elysia saw the query in the maid's eyes, and sighed with frustration when the maid refused to speak her curiosity, turning to duck into the left wing.

Ever since her marriage to Gaara, nothing had been the same in the Sand village. The hired hands no longer avoided and sneered at her. Instead, they smiled warmly at her like she was an old friend, bowed respectfully to her as if she'd been their Lady for years. Not even the villagers scorned her any longer the times in which she left her confines, because their beloved Kazekage would never, ever steer them wrong by marrying a treacherous wench. No, no, if this woman was up to the task of marrying _the _Gaara of the Desert, of making even him "love" her, then she was a blessed gift to the villagers from the gods themselves.

Kankuro began to play pranks on her regularly. Snuck alcohol to her secretly (unbeknownst to Temari, of course), assuming from her behavior at the wedding that she enjoyed the beverage, and not realizing that she actually hated the taste of _all _of it, and had only wanted to feel numb. He was a mere joke and a laugh away from offering to show her his projects downstairs.

Temari purchased her gifts from the village shops. Brought back souvenirs from the villages she'd visited as liaison, like dolls and trinkets. Odds and ends things that the kunoichi could get her hands on amid fulfilling her obligated duties. Most commonly, the kunoichi brought back books, paints, and canvases. Unspoken peace offerings between the two women.

Only Gaara remained the same. The distant, rarely smiling, always cautious, dutiful, unemotional Gaara.

The one thing in her life that refused to change... Which was probably why she found herself going to him most of the time.

A tall, slender woman with soft caramel-colored eyes, dark olive skin and long, sleek black tresses lingered in her peripheral vision, and the noble's heart fluttered with excitement at the familiar, friendly face.

"Erihen!" Elysia heard herself gasp with more enthusiasm than she'd intended to let show through in her voice.

"Lady Elysia," The maid addressed respectfully, bowing curtly before edging to the doorway of the kitchen.

She stood there for a moment, smiling politely as she uneasily awaited the noble to dismiss her so she could get back to work.

Even the kind-hearted woman had conformed to the expectations everyone seemed to have adopted the second that wretched ring was slid onto her finger.

Elysia promptly frowned, disheartened. Heaving a disappointed sigh at the woman's instant uneasiness around the noble, she waved her off wordlessly, turning her back on Erihen.

If it was a constant she wanted, she already knew who to seek out.

* * *

"Most of the Earth is unaware of Tyujmae's absence."

Gaara's jaw slackened in shock, his eyes slowly widening.

"The entire country doesn't realize that their noble is _missing_?"

Kankuro scratched his chin, snickering softly as he shook his head. "Are they out of the loop or _what_?"

The informant, a teenage blond Chuunin whom was a frequent card-playing acquaintance of Kankuro's, promptly disagreed, shaking his head as an idea came to him.

"I don't think that's the case here. The Tsuchikage doesn't want something this huge leaking out. Which, in all honesty, you really can't blame him for that. Just imagine the chaos, especially on the part of our enemies in the time of a war of this kind of magnitude. What if they found out the eldest and most powerful of the noblemen was kidnapped?"

"Not _attack _them, that's for sure," Kankuro blurted, rolling his eyes, allowing his hand to drop into his lap. "It's not as if the Tsuchikage himself went missing. The enemy can't play off of one man's disappearance, especially since he's of no militaristic benefit to the country."

"B-but..."

The boy's argument died on his lips, his tongue fumbling with words. His face filled with blood, flustered and ashamed, as Gaara curtly ignored him and turned his attention to the parchment the Chuunin had brought before him. Scanning the letter apathetically, he sighed, before promptly crumbling the paper in his fist.

"If this information from the Stone is correct, then there's little we can do for Tyjumae. He's beyond our help now."

Temari was not as eager to agree, and quickly made her voice heard.

"We should still send a squad of shinobi to the Earth and--"

"And do what?" Gaara challenged softly, tossing the letter into the trashcan beside his desk. "Send said squad to their execution?" His gaze rose to the closed door, staring with a fixed gaze at a random point in the distance. "If the Akatsuki are truly the ones involved with this kidnapping, I'm not blindly risking _my _shinobi. We all know what they're capable of, and how far they're willing to go for their twisted ideals. Perhaps if it were the Tsuchikage, it would be another story. However..."

Gaara sneered maliciously, bitterly recalling his own fall at the hands of a single member of the Akatsuki. Temari pressed her thumb thoughtfully to her lips.

"I just can't figure out what an organization like the Akatsuki wants with Tyjumae. I thought they were solely after the Jinchuuriki?"

"Maybe they have another motive now," Kankuro suggested, folding his arms across his chest. "Or, maybe it wasn't the Akatsuki at all. Maybe it was another group."

"Like what?" She demanded. "Or whom?"

"I dunno," Came the puppet master's honest reply. "It was just a thought. And I know it's not too far out of the blue. It's possible."

"Possible, but not _probable_," Temari continued to argue.

Kankuro opened his mouth to speak, when the doorknob to the room rattled. Hearts skipped regulated beats, and breaths shuddered.

Elysia poked her head curiously into the room, her eyes widening in shock at the small crowd that had gathered in the room. Anxiety crept into her chest, as several glares were shot her way, including one perturbed Kazekage.

"Sorry," She mumbled softly, shuffling guiltily back of the room.

The moment footsteps disappeared, Kankuro's head whipped around to Gaara, his eyes wide and etched with worry.

"Think she heard anything?" He blurted in a rush, his words slurring together in his haste.

Temari shook her head, her relaxed smile beginning to comfort both of her brothers. Still, Kankuro had his doubts.

"What makes you so sure?"

"If she'd heard anything, she wouldn't have come in here so innocently. She'd have left without a word, keeping her thoughts to herself," Temari reasoned, carefully taking the noble's personality into consideration. "Besides... she wouldn't have been able to keep the angst from her face and tone so easily if she had."

The puppeteer nodded firmly, satisfied with her explanation.

"Anyway... where were we? Talking about how the Stone is up shit creek without a paddle?"

"Not quite," Gaara droned distastefully, frowning at his brother's crude use of words.

"I'd be willing to go to the Stone," The Chuunin volunteered bravely, boldly puffing out his chest.

Temari smiled gratefully at him, a mask for her impulse to laugh at his ignorance. Kankuro, however, was not as courteous, and erupted with laughter at the boy's expense.

"Bec, if the Akatsuki are behind Tyjumae's kidnapping, you'd be smeared in a second. Less than that. There'd be nothing left of you at all," The kunoichi slowly explained.

The Chuunin's face fell, disappointed. He stared down at his vulnerable toes in shame.

"I... guess I understand. I'm sorry for making such a stupid, groundless request."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Temari reassured him, offering Kankuro a cold glare as he snorted in response to her condolence. "You're willing to lay your life down for your country. There's no shame in that. You just have to learn the difference between _sacrificing _your life, and _wasting _it. In this case, your life would be a waste if you died."

Bec nodded his understanding, blinking rapidly in an attempt to rid his heart of the aggravation he still felt towards himself.

"I just... wish there was something I could do for Lady Elysia. I hate the fact that she could lose the last of her family, just like that... and here we are, uselessly standing by. There must be _something _we can do..."

Tears welled in his eyes, memories of his own loneliness and loss resurfacing. Kankuro groaned and rolled his eyes intolerantly at the boy's weakness.

"If it's any _condolence _for you, Elysia and her father don't get along well. Can't say that she'd miss him much."

In a flash, the Chuunin's head snapped up, shooting a hateful glare at the puppet master.

"Don't say something like that!" Bec snarled angrily, shocking both of the Jounin.

The Chuunin's tongue tripped over his unspoken apology as his face flushed furiously in humiliation. He made a quick gesture towards the Kazekage, bowing respectfully as he excused himself from the room.

"Touchy," Kankuro mused aloud, more intrigued than offended by the Chuunin's outburst.

Temari shot him an icy stare.

"Well, when you insensitively say something like _that_--"

"He's a shinobi. He should know how to control his emotions better than that! Besides, I'm just saying, he's touchy, isn't he?"

"You could have handled that better."

"I'm his sensei, not his damn mother, Temari."

Temari's mouth shot open to throw a cruel insult at her brother, when Gaara barked a command to be quiet, his fingers going to his temple, making gradual massaging motions.

"The fact of the matter remains," He began slowly. "I won't send a squad of shinobi into unknown dangers without having properly assessed the situation there."

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he exhaled slowly.

"I will send word to the Stone that we simply cannot afford to investigate the matter, especially if they openly admit Akatsuki involvement."

His siblings nodded in unison, accepting their younger brother's decision. Gaara dropped his hand onto his lap, leaning back in his chair.

"Temari, I want you establish communications with the Leaf and River Country immediately. See what they have heard about this, and what their proposed course of action will be. If they have heard nothing on the matter, fill them in. Report your findings back to me."

"Right."

The kunoichi departed, leaving the brothers alone in the room.

"Kankuro," Gaara wasted no time in addressing.

The puppet master instantly stood erect as his brother spoke his name, prepared for an ideal task.

"Yeah?"

Gaara paused a moment, rasing a thoughtful finger to his lips, before finishing,

"Go see what Elysia wanted."

Kankuro's shoulders prominently slumped.

"You serious?" He grumbled miserably.

The Kazekage gazed back at him stoically, unblinking, as the two silently engaged a staring competition. Aware that he stood no chance against his younger sibling, Kankuro silently resigned himself to the inevitable task at hand.

_"I'm gonna start charging the bastard babysitting fees."_

Knowing better than to make such a snide remark, the puppeteer sulked wordlessly out of the room instead.

* * *

By the time Kankuro arrived outside Elysia's room, her good graces had long since passed. She sat curled up on her bed, her legs pressed against her chest, a half-completed book that had yet to really grab her attention propped atop her knees.

"Knock knock," He grunted, swinging the door wide open, not waiting for a reply.

"Go away," The noble promptly dismissed him.

The puppeteer hesitated momentarily, considering obliging to the woman's demand. She cast him a listless glance, eyeing him hatefully. Instead of backing out, his masculanity forbade him from leaving. His pride would allow no woman to glare at him like that without cause, and even then, it was an unforgivable sin.

"What's up your ass?" He shot coldly, folding his arms across his chest.

His eye squint shut in irritation. With an angry sneer, Elysia snapped the book shut. Pinching its spine between her index and thumb fingers, she hurled the novel at the puppet master. The book was poorly thrown; Kankuro easily evaded collision by tucking his right shoulder in slightly, allowing it to slam into the door behind him instead with a hallow crack.

"Get out. I do not wish for your presence."

"You were singing a different tune half an hour ago, when you so boldly barged into Gaara's office," Kankuro pointed out smugly.

"I was seeking _his _companionship, not _yours_," she growled venomously.

"Well, what the hell did you want?" Kankuro demanded.

He was already sick and tired of her bitter, unwelcoming company. But the stubborn man in him kept him rooted to the spot.

The alternative in boredom occurred to Elysia in the scenario in which Kankuro were to leave. Her boredom-fueled temper simmered, and she relaxed, waving her hand at the corner of the bed furthest from her.

"Sit."

Kankuro rose a confused brow at her moodiness, and opened his mouth to question her.

"First, you're bitching at me to leave, now you're telling me to stay?"

"Shut up," The noble snapped hotly.

An inward grin threatened to surface in the shinobi, already catching on to her attitude. To her dismay, Kankuro obeyed with a lazy shrug. The peircing silence got the better of her in a matter of seconds.

"Nevermind. You may speak. In fact, I command you to talk."

Snickering, he plucked the book the noble had thrown at him in her blind fury from the floor.

" _'The Anatomy of the Flower'_?" He scoffed.

"It's about the functions and purposes of different types of flowers," Elysia explained calmly.

"Yeah, I get that."

Kankuro leisurely drifted to the bed, taking the seat the noble had motioned for him to take. Laying the book behind him, he prodded Elysia's mind in order to sate his confusion and his curiosity.

"So. What's up?" He began cautiously, trying not to ignite her former anger again.

Elysia averted his gaze, blinking furiously in shame at her hasty anger, realizing the reasoning behind his careful discretion.

"Sorry," She blurted quickly, smoothing out the skirt of her kimono.

Making the mistake of locking her gaze with his questioning eyes, the noble's tongue hesitated for only a split second before her thoughts spilled from her mouth, like he'd reached inside of her and turned on a faucet.

"I hate the way things have turned out here in the Sand. I did not know what to expect after my marriage to Lord Kazekage, but I can safely say that I did not expect to suddenly be treated like a delicate ornament, opposed to formerly being regarded with malice and cautious skepticism. To be honest, I preferred the latter. At least then, Setsuko and Erihen would speak to me. People did not feel the need to mask their feelings towards me. If they distrusted me, it showed. If someone appreciated me, that showed just as well. But now... I never see my husband, Setsuko and Erihen act as if they are afraid to speak to me, and I am bored out of my mind between Temari's loathsome taste in books and staring out my window as I long for a taste of the friendship that any one of those citizens possess."

Elysia paused, catching her breath. She watched Kankuro's reaction warily, half-heartedly expecting him to laugh, or spaz out on her. The puppet master wore a blank expression on his face. For a dreadful moment, the noble thought he might ask her to repeat herself again, only _slower _this time.

"You're one complicated broad," He finally murmured, almost in distaste.

The noble chuckled softly to herself, vaguely realizing that it was the first time she'd laughed in quite some time.

"You are just envious that you are incapable of thinking half as much as me," Elysia purred, smug.

Rolling his eyes, Kankuro scoffed.

"Yeah, that _must _be it."

In an instant, his expression was replaced by a wide grin, as he registered a comment the noble had made.

"_You _want to spend more time with _Gaara_?" He purred coyly.

The noble's face flushed, setting her jaw firmly, poised to argue.

"I never said that."

"Twice!" Kankuro corrected her with a cunning laugh, "First when you admitted to wanting Gaara's company opposed to mine, and again just now."

Elysia scowled at his mocking laughter, the stubborn blush in her cheeks refusing to fade.

"You are a pain."

"Maybe," He agreed thoughtfully. "But at least I'm not in denial."

"Neither am I!"

"Liar."

"Pompous ass!" The noble spat furiously.

Kankuro threw his head back, roaring with laughter at the noble's expense.

"Seriously though," He began, waving the matter to the back of his head for taunting the woman with later. "you think _way _too much. Just chill out a little bit, and stop over-analyzing everything."

"I do not 'over-analyze'," The noble softly protested. "I am merely... thoughtful."

"_'Thoughtful'_?" Kankuro snickered mockingly. "Are you sure you don't mean, _'paranoid'_?"

"I said what I meant," Elysia defended herself, "and meant what I said."

Wary of her recently _explosive _temper, Kankuro dropped the argument without another word. He wasn't near curious enough to get himself waist-deep in this trivial matter.

After a long period in which neither spoke, the noble finally broke the silence.

"I know that it was probably Temari, or perhaps Lord Kazekage himself that sent you to entertain me. However, you do not have to stay here if you do not wish to, Kankuro."

The puppeteer waved her offer away nonchalantly after a moment's brief consideration. After all, what was waiting for him outside her door? A flustered, irate Temari? Gaara, apathetic and preoccupied?

And then, like a bolt of lightning, it struck him.

_Todara_.

He was supposed to be helping his friend set up for his wedding in two days.

Springing to his feet, Kankuro lunged for the door. His hand was wrapped firmly around the handle, only for him to cast an impulsive glance over his shoulder at the noble. She remained as he'd found her; knees pinned to her chest, only her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs.

"I have to help Todara," He suddenly blurted, unable to stop himself from voicing his reason for leaving so abruptly.

In a way, he realized, his hastiness made it seem as if he were fleeing her company. Even though he was well aware of the fact that the noble had no idea who this Todara character was, once he'd spoken, he found it hard to restrain his voice from obeying his instincts to keep silent.

"Turns out, Todara got his woman knocked up before we left for the front lines at the Temujin shores. Damn near gave him a heart attack when she told him after he returned. Already had to postpone his wedding because of that fight, and now, they have to slap together a ceremony before she doesn't fit in her dress anymore."

Kankuro laughed at the thought, shaking his head. Biting his tongue, he quickly slipped out of the room before he could spill anything else.

Thoughts of a wedding brought back fresh, _fond _memories of her own. Loathing the event for weeks. Trying to drink herself into a stupor so that she would not feel a thing when the day finally arrived far too soon, it seemed. Attempting to drink, so that she wouldn't feel the stare, the scrutiny of the on-lookers. How she'd seen her new husband a total of ten minutes during the ceremony, and perhaps twenty since they'd been wedded over a month ago. The feel of his sandpaper lips against hers, a traditional sealing of the wedding ceremony, reluctant and resistant on both sides. She wondered vaguely if he even bothered to keep his wedding band, his shackle, on his hand. Would the Councils enforce that? Would they even care?

Elysia closed her eyes firmly, attempting to rid herself of the thoughts that plagued her.

_He wants nothing to do with me. My own husband..._

_"Of course he does not,"_ she reminded herself out of spite. _"It was an arranged marriage, one that even he never even wanted."_

And yet, the idea in itself was almost painful.

_Why?_

She didn't love him. Yet, he obviously didn't care that she expressed no affection towards him. So why should it bother her? Was that not hypocritical of her?

After a moment's thought, she realized that she already knew the answers to those questions.

As a child, she used to sometimes fantasize about her inevitable marriage. She had always assumed that one day, she'd marry a man she loved, and have a loving, caring family to surround her. A husband that would never forsake her, and care for her regardless of her ambitious father's ideals.

She had desired that kind of companionship. It was why she unconsciously refused the ordeal in the beginning, despite Temari's persistence that the idea was flawless. Why she had been filled with a lingering state of dread ever since she'd reluctantly accepted, despite the sickening churn set into motion inside of her stomach.

It had been the last goal she'd secretly held inside, unbeknownst even to herself until she searched for it. That even though her life had begun on the wrong foot, with so much blood, pain, hatred and death, she could end it right in the end, beside the man she loved, surrounded by children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

And now, as she was beginning to sorrowfully realize, that dream had been taken from her as well.


	13. Chapter 13

I finished both of my current chapters just in time for you guys! Just in time for what, you ask? For my birthday, 'course. That's right-- Today is Blight's birthday, and it's time for the reverse present, in which I give to you instead of taking from you. Hoorah. Enjoy.

* * *

The moment her feet left the ground, the noble allowed a blood-curdling scream to bubble up from her chest. Her captor cringed at the ear-splitting sound, but remained otherwise unaffected, his crude laughter unphased.

"Be quiet, woman, or you'll attract all sorts of attention."

As if to prove his point, several citizens arched curious brows and turned inquiring heads to view the spectacle unfolding on the street. He shifted his grasp on her, tossing her as casually as a paperweight over his shoulder.

"That is kind of the point, you ass! _Temari_! Temari, tell him this is _not _funny!"

"But it _is _funny," the konoichi insisted, highly amused as she watched the scene with obvious curiosity.

"To hell with the both of you!" Elysia squealed furiously.

She squeaked as Kankuro executed a pirouette, spinning around on his heel as her head came dangerously close to the wall of a nearby building. Her fingers grasped desperately at his shoulder for fear of slipping, when her dizzy mind processed a whirl of bright red and burgundy. The figure came to a halt several feet from the scene, on looking the commotion silently.

"G-Gaara!" She groaned, fighting the nausea working its way up her throat as she threw a shot in the dark as to who the person was. "Tell them to s-stop!"

"Put her down, Kankuro," A soft, rough voice commanded with a natural authority, confirming the noble's suspicions concerning the person's identity.

Without hesitation, Kankuro obeyed his brother, setting the woman down on her feet, backing away from the stumbling noble as he howled with laughter at her disorientation. The world seemed to spin in three separate directions all at once. A soft grunt found its way past her lips as she fumbled with her vision, arms stretched out in front of her in a vain attempt at finding balance. She allowed the bag slung over her arm to drop to the ground, and out of fear that Kankuro might take her for a joy ride again, she began to stagger towards her husband. Swallowing her pride, the noble crumpled against him. The Kazekage readily caught her in his arms, cradling her shoulders at a distance as she doubled over in an attempt to steady herself.

"Obligatory family time is _over_," She growled softly, but not softly enough to avoid being heard by the trio's keen hearing.

"What are you talking about?" The earnest puppet master demanded, still cackling like a madman. "Gaara's just got here. The fun has only begun."

"_'Fun'_?" Elysia snorted distastefully. "Fun for you and Temari, perhaps, but I have a headache that is much worse than it was five minutes ago, and on top of that, my breakfast is close to making a reappearance, all thanks to _you_."

Kankuro rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, what a whiner. Let's go. Gaara, pick up your broad, and let's hit the scene."

The young Kazekage made a sweeping motion with his hands, causing the noble to topple into his arms limply. Her head lolled lazily over his forearm, and she groaned at the sudden head rush that swept over her due to his lack of gentleness. Her head throbbed, blood pounding relentlessly against the walls inside of her mind, and his slinging her around served only to make the throbbing worse.

"I hate you all," She morbidly informed them.

Elysia was well aware that there was, _supposedly_, a small crowd of councilmen that were to gather at a shop (who knew the old coots were ever _outside _their comfy office chairs?) for dinner. Being the avid suck-ups that she knew from experience that the sand siblings were, they had to oh-so very conveniently planned to take the entertainment-starved noble out on that _exact _day, and visit that _exact _restaurant, at the _exact _time the councilmen were scheduled to be there. Coincidence?

The sand siblings insisted so, but the noble begged to differ.

Only Gaara had refused the idea at first.

"I'd rather not," He had murmured distastefully.

But his protests had landed upon deaf ears, and his siblings' desire to show the happy newlyweds off to everyone and their mother won out.

Temari scooped Elysia's bag up from the ground, slinging it over her shoulder as she followed her brothers.

"Tell me something," The noble commanded, straining to find a comfortable position in her husband's arms.

Mistaking her movement as struggle, Gaara promptly released her. With a short scream, the noble swore at him as she landed on her back. Temari winced at the impact, and Kankuro quickly whirled around to see the source of the commotion.

"What the hell happened?"

"Your brother dropped me," Elysia snapped irritably, slowly sitting up.

She offered the young Kazekage an abrupt glare before fighting her way back onto her feet.

"Your question?" Gaara pressed, eager for a change in subject and mood.

His ploy worked, as he watched her face soften, her scowl vanishing into thin air.

"My father. He never showed up for the wedding. I would have thought that even he would have attended... But he did not. And I have written him several times, with no response from him."

"You're concerned," The sand user concluded.

"Of course I am concerned. He is my father."

Kankuro frowned uneasily. Temari placed a reassuring hand on the noble's shoulder.

"I'm sure he's just busy. You'll hear from him soon enough. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

She avoided Elysia's gaze as the noble nodded, taking the kunoichi's word.

"Can't we save that for some other time?" Kankuro intervened, patting his stomach almost sympathetically. "I'm starving."

As if to defend his claim, an old man ducked through the entrance of the restaurant of their intended destination.

"Sukuzi," Gaara addressed solemnly.

The councilman turned at his name, and smiled in greeting.

"Lord Kazekage. Fancy seeing you here. Taking your bride out, my lord?"

"Yes."

His eyes lingered on the noble just beyond the Kazekage, who met his gaze skeptically. Sukuzi offered her an amused grin, before bowing to her curtly.

"I'm glad to have finally met you in person, my lady. You've certainly stirred things up here in this village."

"So I have heard," The noble murmured, unsure of how to accept the comment.

Sukuzi swept his hand sideways, into the restaurant.

"I have to stand out here and wait for Sakou to arrive, but by all means, please join us, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara nodded, offering his thanks to the councilman.

The walls on the inside of the building were paneled with wood, which made the noble's brows rise in surprise. To have a common building get their hands on wood in the _desert_... it must have been extremely costly, given the lack of resources available. Even the tables were solid wood, and polished to perfection. This place could not hold a light to the restaurant in the River Country, but it was still a beautiful establishment, with its glowing chandeliers and formal, exquisite "feel".

Near the front of the restaurant sat a middle-aged man clad in long tan robes, hands folded across his abdomen. At the sight of the man, Kankuro groaned, and nudged his brother in the ribs.

"Don't look now, but sunshine's over there."

Gaara rolled his eyes at him, and approached the man, arms folded across his chest.

"Ichizo."

The man's eyes narrowed at the voice, glaring up at the owner.

"Lord Kazekage," He murmured, the hostility melting from his expression. Waving his hand at the table before him, he invited the group to have a seat as he closed his eyes.

"Hard day?" Kankuro questioned sarcastically, his voice dripping with mock sympathy.

Temari scowled at him, though she understood the shinobi's reasoning for disliking the councilman. The man was unbearable to be around, and in his seat of power as a councilman, he was even more insufferable.

Ichizo, however, missed the edge behind cutting remark.

"Aye," He mumbled solemnly, massaging the bridge of his nose.

His eyes fluttered open, and his gaze found the unfamiliar female. Frowning at her, he licked his dry lips, caked with dead skin, and dropped his hand to his chin, beginning to brush his fingers over the stub on his beard carefully.

"Elysia, I presume?"

"Yes," The noble responded softly, holding the man's eyes firmly, refusing to make the same mistake of wavering her gaze twice.

Kankuro waited with bated breath, expecting the councilman to retort with a rude remark. But the man merely nodded, and closed his eyes again. Gaara motioned for Elysia to take the seat at the end of the table, when Sukuzi returned with an older woman. She appeared to be somewhere in the age range between Sukuzi and Ichizo. Her short, spiked dark hair had graying roots, but her bronze smile betrayed her age.

"Elysia! Such a pleasure to finally meet you, my dear!"

The woman laughed, and snatched a hold of the noble's hand, shaking it violently. Elysia's entire arm wobbled like Jell-o at the motion that threatened to knock her shoulder loose out of its socket. Kankuro snickered, jerking his thumb in the direction of which she had come.

"I think you need to go back to bed before you dislocate a hip, Sakou."

"Nonsense!" The woman shrieked, releasing the noble's hand and rounding on Kankuro with a vigor not usually seen in women her age. "I'm ready to eat!"

Elysia quickly took the seat instructed to her by Gaara, massaging her shoulder.

"Baki will be joining us momentarily, Lord Kazekage," Sukuzi announced, taking a seat next to Ichizo. "He had a few matters to attend to before he came."

One after another, the group took their seats, all the while listening to Kankuro and Sakou trade blows.

"Miserable old bat!" The puppeteer shot.

"Don't delude yourself, love. With all that make-up on your face, you look more womanly than I," Sakou purred.

"Ha! I'm about as manly as men can hope to be!"

"Sukuzi testifies otherwise."

"_What_?"

Kankuro's head whipped in the direction of an appalled Sukuzi, who gaped in horror at the councilwoman, looking even older than usual. After a moment's shock, he composed himself, and spoke in his defense, smoothing out the front of his robe.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sakou," He managed to choke out, much to the pleasure of the old woman, who howled in triumph at the discomfort she'd caused.

Elysia leaned in close to Gaara, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"I take it Sakou and Kankuro are close," She observed softly.

"No," The Kazekage replied bluntly. "She is merely the only one on the council who is willing to joke with Kankuro. For that, he likes her."

"I see..."

"Although most of the time, he can't handle her," Temari giggled quietly, having listened in on the conversation taking place. "No one can, really. Sakou's a live wire."

The noble frowned, closely scrutinizing the councilwoman. She had cropped yet fly-away black hair, cutting off just below her jaw line. The woman had dark bronze skin and deep wrinkles creasing her skin, making her look older than she probably was, starkly contrasted by her soft blue eyes. Her eyes gave off a sort of affectionate gleam; the kind of luster that pulled Elysia in, and made her want to instinctively trust the woman.

Sakou pointed a long, bony finger at Kankuro, her already wide smile broadening even more.

"With a so-called "man's charm" like that, all the time insulting us females, you'll never get a woman of your own."

"_Good_," Was the puppeteer's snide comeback. "I don't want to keep one anyway."

"What ever would possess you to say such a thing?"

He flashed a devious smile, and made a remark that made everyone at the table scowl in disapproval at him.

"Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, right?"

"Pig," Elysia heard herself spitting out before Sakou could comment.

The councilwoman beamed at the noble, waving her finger approvingly in her direction.

"You see? Now _there's _a woman who knows a girl's worth! Lord Kazekage was very fortunate to find a woman such as her. You'd do well to take pointers from your younger brother, doll-boy."

Elysia offered Sakou a grateful smile, her chest swelling with delight at the fact that someone thought for once that _Gaara _was the lucky one, and not the other way around.

Kankuro, however, rolled his eyes, though he dare not make a remark against the woman's words. Ready for a change of subject, Sukuzi clapped his hands together, rubbing them together vigorously.

"Well, how about we might as well order refreshments? I'm sure Baki won't mind if we begin without him, no?"

"No," Gaara consented, his fingers touching his chin thoughtfully.

"Baki..." Elysia mused aloud, the name catching on the tip of her tongue as she noted the far-off expression that crossed her husband's face. "That is... who?"

"Baki was the mentor for Lord Kazekage, Temari and Kankuro as children," Ichizo grunted, waving leisurely for a waiter to attend to the table.

"That's strange," The noble pressed diligently. "I thought the offspring of the kage were taught by the kage themselves."

"They were, to a degree," Sakou confirmed, having ceased her bickering with Kankuro. "But he's now Lord Kazekage's most trusted advisor."

"To... a degree?"

"Enough questions," The sand user finally commanded huskily.

Needless to say, no one objected.

"Baki!" Sakou called, rising to her feet and waving her arm madly in the air, although the man had seen her long before she'd risen from her seat.

The moment the noble saw him, she recognized him. With a suppressed smile, she noted to herself, "The Fan girl Officer". To the noble, she recognized him as less of an "advisor", and more like the man whom she always witnessed giving chase to women who had snuck into Gaara's office and stole his possessions while he was out. The "attacks" had all but diminished since his engagement, and declined even more steeply since his marriage, but there had still been the occasional woman who took off with his hat, a pen, etcetera. As a solution, Gaara had recently hired a secretary... A _married _secretary.

Baki scratched one of the red marks on the side of his face, taking a vacant seat at the table, leaning back in it as he scowled around at the people seated. His gaze lingered on the noble for a moment, and then his lips curved down into a sneer.

"Lord Kazekage's presence here is one matter, but what is _she _doing here?"

Elysia glowered at his tone, Baki having regarded the noble as if she were the vermin he'd expect to be walking on top of.

"We were having a casual stroll," Kankuro explained coolly, resting his arm on the back of his chair. "We brought Elysia along with us, when we bumped into the Council of Elders here. No biggie."

Baki dropped his hand from his cheek, keeping his intense stare trained on the noble carefully. He looked like he wanted to argue to matter, but instead sulked to himself in quiet contemplation.

"I hope she doesn't interfere with business here, because we have work to do, and matters to discuss."

* * *

"Elysia, love, you look bored out of your mind."

The noble's head quickly jerked up, shocked to have been addressed, but not quickly enough. The stares of every being seated at the table were zeroed in on her, and she had to fight to keep her expression clear as blood rushed to her fill cheeks.

"Not at all," She lied.

"I know this political garbage isn't your idea of a good time, but it's necessary," Sakou continued drearily. The evening had taken the vitality even out of her, and she appeared weary, as if she'd just run several laps around the village. "Look alive for us at the very least, even if you don't feel that way."

"My apologizes," The noble hastily blurted, watching as sets of eyes began to narrow at her.

"Anyway," Baki grumbled, propping his elbows onto the table, his face adorning his usual scowl. "We must leave the matter of oversea travel to the Hidden Leaf village. Our knowledge of the ocean is limited, and so is the Stone's. The Leaf shinobi are the only ones who stand a chance in our enemy's territory- over the water."

The Kazekage sighed, closing his eyes as he dropped his chin into his open palm.

"I don't want to send the Leaf overseas at all," Gaara murmured quietly, much to his old mentor's displeasure.

"We can't just wait for the battle to come to us, Gaara. We have to bring the fight to _them_. A preemptive strike."

"They can't touch us here," The red head argued, edging his plate away slowly. "Natural defenses."

Elysia frowned at her husband's obvious state of anxiety. He was drained, and ready to call it quits. Baki was the only one insisted to keep going, though night had long since descended upon them. Before her brain could make her keep her tongue in check, she blurted out,

"The Stone is the same. I do not know if any of you have ever been there, but the entire village has the land in its favor. The Hidden Stone is surrounded by huge mountain ranges, like the village is encased by a massive, stone fortress."

She bit down on her tongue, despite the fact that no one seemed to have regarded her words at all. For a brief moment, she entertained the idea that she hadn't been heard.

"It's either very credulous, or extremely naive of you, girl, to subject your own village to potential enemies."

Sakou turned her gaze to the noble slowly, eyeing her curiously.

"However, you strike me as neither. So, tell me... why would you place your village in that kind of position?"

Elysia's face flushed, and she set her jaw stubbornly.

"We are allies. I trust the Kazekage to use the information wisely."

"And if he does not? What proof do you have that he will not use the knowledge you've just bestowed upon him today to crush your home tomorrow?"

"Sakou, don't--" Sukuzi tried to insist.

The councilwoman, however, waved at him dismissively, silencing any further argument he might have. A small smile appeared on her lips when the noble didn't answer.

"It was a slip of the tongue, wasn't it? You see, we're all _tired_, here, Baki. Let's resume this some other time."

Sakou paused, before smiling at the noble.

"You know what I think? I think whether or not you want to admit it, us Sand folk are rubbing off on you, girlie."

She rose to her feet, grinning like a Cheshire cat, and jabbed a bony finger at the noble.

"I like you."

Shaking her head, she cast a quick glance at the Kazekage before she cackled on final time and headed for the door, despite Baki's roars of protest.

"I _like _her!"

"Crazy fool," Kankuro snickered, before jumping to his feet, ecstatic at the prospect of finally being able to leave.

Gaara was quick to jump onto the councilwoman's bandwagon, and paid his tab before dismissing himself.

"We will take Sakou's suggestion, and continue this at a later date," He insisted irritably as Baki rounded on him, jaw agape and poised to argue.

Jaw clenched, but seeing no other way other than to oblige to the Kazekage's whims, the shinobi nodded stiffly.

Gaara waved to the females, still in their seats, bidding them to follow him. Neither woman needed to be told twice.

"Sukuzi. Ichizo," The sand user addressed as he moved to leave.

"Yes, yes..." The head of the councilmen mumbled, dabbing at his bald forehead with a cloth he'd produced from his sleeve.

"Holy _shit_," Kankuro swore the second he hit the streets outside. Squinting, he glared up at the streetlights overhead. "Official meetings with the entire Council of Elders don't last that long. And aren't _half _as boring."

"Baki thinks we are slacking as a country in this war," Gaara droned shortly. "He insists we are getting lazy, and for that, we will inevitably pay with loss, or worse."

"He _said _that to you?" The puppeteer demanded angrily, nostrils flaring as he turned to glare at the door at the restaurant.

When Gaara failed to reply, Kankuro emitted a low growl, taking his brother's silence as a wordless confirmation.

"Well, Baki's really starting to piss me off. Lately, he's done nothing but nag, nag, nag. It's like he thinks he's still your damn nursemaid."

"I think he has a right to be worried about his own village's well-being," Elysia murmured softly, flinching the second the words passed her lips, as the puppet master rounded angrily on her.

"And I think you need to keep your greenhorn nose out of our shit."

"Shut up," Gaara commanded, casting a warning glare at his elder brother.

The noble glowered to herself darkly, glaring at Kankuro's back. Her tongue slid past her lips in a quick, unspoken taunt, before sulking silently to herself.

* * *

_Thud_.

Elysia screamed out, flailing her arms madly at the impact.

_Thud_.

"Mummf-o!"

"Huh? What's that?"

The puppet master cackled, and then slammed the pillow over her head a third time.

_Thud_.

"_Kankuro_!"

The noble rolled off of her bed, narrowly avoiding the fourth blow. She gave the shinobi the evil eye, before reaching for another pillow. With a malicious glint in her eyes, she threw herself at the puppet user, letting loose a battle cry of her own.

It was often this way. In his anger, Kankuro frequently lashed out. Elysia soon learned that his conscience bothered him about his temper, for several hours after he would take his anger out on her, he'd always come back. He'd never word his apology as the common, two-worded phrase one might expect, but he'd express his unspoken remorse with a prank, or simply by irritating her until she lost her own temper with him. She would never challenge his methods of making up his blunder to her, because she knew that this was the only way in which he was comfortable of offering his regret.

War raged for about ten seconds, until the liaison entered the room to make peace.

Rolling her eyes, Temari planted her hands on her hips.

"Some good morning. You came in here and did the exact thing I told you _not _to do, didn't you, Kankuro?"

"Yup."

_Thud_.

"Bastard!" The noble howled, raising her pillow back over her head. "We had a time out called!"

"I didn't hear it."

_Thud_.

The noble cut her losses, and dove behind Temari for protection as she ditched her pillow.

She'd never openly admit it, but it was days like these in which the noble _loved,_ even if it meant enduring Kankuro's rage first.

Until...

"The lookout squad has notified Gaara that we've received outside intelligence. Bec insists it's important. He's speaking to the Council of Elders right now, but we're to head to the Kazekage's office, and wait for him there."

Kankuro sighed, lowering the pillow in his hands. The thought flickered crossed the noble's mind to ambush the puppet master now, while his guard was so obviously down, but she realized that now wasn't the time for that. Instead, she watched as Kankuro tossed the pillow onto her bed, and left the room with his elder sister. Her human alarm clock gone, she groaned aloud, and collapsed onto her bed, already silently wishing someone would come back for her soon.

* * *

"It... it's been confirmed, Lord Kazekage."

The red head arched a brow at the Chuunin, raising his head. Temari stood from her perch by the window.

"What's been confirmed, Bec?" She pressed quietly.

Bec dropped his gaze, staring in sorrow at the cuticles of his toenails. Slowly, he reached into his vest, and withdrew a creased, torn scroll that already appeared to have passed through several other pairs of hands. The Kazekage had expected yet another update from the Stone, but this scroll bore the seal of the Sand. Gaara accepted the letter wordlessly, using his thumbs to flip open the flaps of the parchment. Kankuro leaned over his brother's shoulder, and scowled at the contents.

"It's a bunch of political bullshit," He grunted. "Can't you just summarize it?"

Bec nodded slowly, licking his lips.

"Tyjumae... the lord of the Stone... He's dead. His body was discovered by a squad of Chuunin as they returned from a mission. He was found early this morning, within _Sand borders_, just a mile outside of the village."


	14. Chapter 14

Gaara's jaw clenched, his fingers already beginning to curl, his hand crumbling the scroll. The blood drained from Temari's face as she pursed her lips tightly together, but even her silent horror paled in comparison to Kankuro's.

"Shit!" The puppet master swore loudly, running a hand through his dark hair as he began to pace the room frantically. "Elysia's going to _kill _us! No, forget _murder_! She's gonna make sure there's nothing left of-"

"Forget about Elysia," The sand user interrupted coldly.

_"What?"_

Kankuro rounded on his younger brother, slamming his palms of his desk angrily.

"How can you say that? We hid his disappearance from her! Now he's a dead man. She's gonna-!"

"Gaara's right, Kankuro," Temari murmured softly, cutting her brother's rant short.

Her words earned her a furious glare, but she returned the gesture apathetically.

"We have worse consequences at stake. His body was found within _our _borders. If the Land of Earth finds that out..."

Kankuro's face contorted into an expression of understanding, and _terror_, finally grasping the point that his siblings had been trying to drive home.

"...This could mean war between us. Do you have any idea how that would upset the balance of this conflict?"

"We still have Elysia," Kankuro croaked once the ability to speak returned to him. "They wouldn't dare assault us while we have her..."

He turned uneasily to the Kazekage, chewing his bottom lip anxiously.

"Would they, Gaara?"

The red head's silence unnerved his siblings, and Bec stirred anxiously.

"Leave," Kankuro told the Chuunin huskily, seeing the turn the conversation had taken.

Bec scrambled to exit the office as he was commanded, and Kankuro's gaze rose to meet his brother's.

"You once said that if the Earth ever betrayed us, you'd kill Elysia. Would you still do that... Gaara?"

"The Earth hasn't betrayed us!" Temari quickly argued, as if afraid of Gaara's answer. "We haven't done anything wrong. Tyjumae's death wasn't our doing. Whomever killed him is obviously trying to frame us, and pit us against the Earth. If the Earth assaults us, it won't be because that was their original intention! It will be because of a tragic misunderstanding! Which is why we have to inform them of what's happened here, and quickly, before word leaks out and they find this out from another source! If they hear from someone other than the Sand that their noble is dead, they will think _we _were the culprits, and that we were trying to hide his death from them."

She wrung her hands together as she spoke, trying in vain to steady her erratic heartbeat.

"Call the Councils together," Gaara finally ordered, rising from his seat.

Temari sighed in temporary relief, though she knew the matter was far from resolved.

"Alright. I'll send word to the Elders. Kankuro, will you notify the Nobles?"

"Yeah, whatever," The puppeteer responded listlessly.

"How soon can the Nobles reach the village?" Gaara questioned his siblings as he reached for his gourd of sand.

"As soon as they get the message," Kankuro answered.

He placed his hood on his head, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he glared at his siblings, scowling as he wordlessly dismissed himself from the room. Temari sighed.

"He's really upset. I never would have thought he'd have allowed himself to get so attached to her."

"He should know how to control his emotions better," Gaara murmured harshly, reciting the phrase the puppeteer had used on Bec.

"Would you really kill her?"

The question had been weighing on her mind ever since Kankuro had asked it. She feared her brother's answer, but at the same time, she desired the truth.

"If she gets in my way," Gaara replied icily.

His response sent shivers of horror up her spine, his words reminding her painfully of a former, less pleasant side of her brother.

"I'll do what I must to protect my village. Nothing less."

* * *

"Hearts?"

The noble arched a brow at the deck in her visitor's hands. He shifted the cards to one hand, brushing his flyaway blond bangs from his light brown eyes as he watched her climb down from her perch in the windowsill.

"Yeah. It's a type of card game."

The shinobi turned the deck over in his hands, fanning the cards face-up over his palms.

"The point of the game is to avoid the heart cards and the queen of spades while you take tricks."

"Tricks?"

Her eyes scanned the cards curiously, resting on the fabled queen of spades.

"Yes. A trick is a round of cards that has one card from each player. The point of winning tricks is to play a card higher than the other players and take all the cards that were laid, while avoiding the heart cards and the queen of spades. In that case, you want to play your lowest card, otherwise, you'll be penalized if you win the trick containing a heart card or the queen of spades."

He split the deck, and began to shuffle the cards as he continued his explanation.

"The first player to lay down his card calls the suit, in which the other players have to lay down a card of the same suit. However, say I'm the first player to lay down my card, and I play a four of clubs, but you don't have any clubs. Instead, you should play a heart card, or the queen of spades, if you have it. You see, that suit, and the queen, deal penalty points to the player that takes that particular trick."

Elysia grinned, watching her new companion shuffle the cards.

"So you will teach me to play, will you not?"

"If you'd like, my lady."

The noble tilted her head to the side, frowning as her mesmerised eyes left the cards for the first time, and gazed into the shinobi's face.

"What kind of question is that?"

The ninja laughed, tucking his cards into his pouch with his shinobi tools.

"Alright, alright... Sorry. I'll just ask that you follow me, so that we can find a nice place to play, my lady."

Elysia rose to her feet, when her bedroom door swung open softly. Kankuro pursed his lips at the noble and her new acquaintance, who cringed at the sight of his sensei.

"Bec," The puppet master addressed dully.

His hands curled into fists at his sides. Elysia's gaze shifted from the two shinobi, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Kankuro? You know-?"

"Hearts is a game best played with three or more players," Kankuro speculated coldly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Why don't you two come with _me_, and I'll show you how a real man plays cards."

His usual playful nature was replaced with a poor facade of good humor, and his voice was graven and angry. Ordinarily, the noble would have been ecstatic at such a suggestion, but the serious stoniness engraved on the puppeteer's features told her that they would be discussing much more than just cards.

"I think-"

"I'm not telling you to think," Kankuro quickly corrected her, stepping out of the doorway as he swept his hand through the exit. "Just to come."

The noble chewed at her lip, raising her head to look the puppet master in the eye. His gaze was harsh, and knowing that he'd accept no more questions, she wordlessly nodded, and fell into step behind him as he departed.

* * *

"Most of the nobles can be here within a days' time," Temari speculated, casting her eyes to the sky. She dropped her gaze, and looked to her brother for his response. "Will we have time to wait for them?"

"Do we have a choice?" Baki intervened, his voice adopting an agitated growl.

"Yes," The konoichi persisted. "We do. We could go ahead and send word to the Earth. I'm still afraid of word leaking out, and the Earth finding out without our telling them first. Our hesitation could instigate a conflict we can't afford to have on our hands right now."

The Kazekage nodded slowly, raising his right hand to his left shoulder as he adjusted the strap of his gourd.

"I want Kankuro present when the nobles arrive tomorrow. And summon Bec for me," He added, turning to Baki, who nodded, pressing his hands together as he vanished in a wisp of smoke.

"Bec?" Temari questioned, confused. "What for?"

"To send word to the nobles. I doubt Kankuro will do it."

The konoichi's jaw slackened at her brother's bold declaration of doubt in his elder sibling.

"But Kankuro obviously wants to protect Elysia. Why would he jeopardize her well-being by not contacting the nobles?"

"He fears their decision," Gaara reasoned flatly. "If they decide to send her back in the case that war breaks out between the Sand and the Stone, it's likely she will not even make it back to her village alive. If Sand shinobi can't get hold of her, our enemies, or the ones who murdered Tyjumae, _will_. And in the slim chance that she does survive, it will only be a matter of time before someone, whether it be us or our enemies, inevitably kills her. The only difference is that she will be on her home ground. As a former ally, the Stone will not be accepted by us or by our enemies. The Sound won't barter with them, and without allies it will be only a matter of time before they are overcome. Kankuro realizes this."

"But the nobles may not decide that," Temari murmured skeptically. "Besides, if you doubt even Kankuro, what makes you so sure that Bec will listen?"

"Bec is obedient," He surmised. "Although he sometimes questions the morality of a mission, he isn't rebellious. He won't see the harm in contacting the nobles."

"So you're going to trick him."

"Not at all. He just doesn't think ahead far enough to see the potential danger. He lacks that kind of experience as a shinobi. After all, he's still just a child."

Gaara turned to his elder sister, studying her carefully before making his request.

"Summon your squad."

Taken aback, Temari recoiled in shock.

"What?"

"I have a mission in mind for them."

"Ruthless as ever, Kankuro-sensei..." Bec exhaled heavily, before dropping the cards left in his hands on top of the discard pile. "That's it. I'm done."

"No you're not," The puppeteer growled, flicking his index finger at the cards his pupil had dropped. "Now pick 'em back up."

"But I'm tired of losing!"

"Suck it up."

"Bec has a point, Kankuro," Elysia murmured softly, laying her cards face-down on the roof in front of her. "You are no fun to play with when you are so cut-throat. I barely know how to play, and you are obviously so much better than Bec. You have won every single hand we have played."

The puppet master rolled his eyes, and nodded as he submitted.

"Fine. Whatever."

Reaching forward with a defeated sigh, Kankuro collecting the rest of the deck in his hands.

The puppeteer had led the noble and his student onto a civilian's rooftop, but the wind had begun to pick up. He turned, twisting his body as he gaze out at the village's border.

"Storm's coming," He concluded with a grunt. "Guess we would have had to stop soon anyway."

"We should go back inside, Kankuro-sensei," Bec attempted to advise his teacher. "I don't think we should wait until the last minute to head to refuge from the sandstorm..."

"Thanks, captain obvious."

The Chuunin's face flushed with humiliation as he hung his head.

"S-sorry..."

"Kankuro... What in the world has gotten into you?" The noble questioned before she could think twice about second-guessing herself.

"Sorry," The Jounin blurted, much to the female's shock.

"Kankuro..."

"Just forget it, alright?"

He made to dismiss the matter with a wave of his hand, as if it might resolve everything, only to freeze the motion in midair, scowling at the approaching shapes in the distance.

"Go figure. Gaara and Temari thought me for treason so quickly, huh...?"

"What?" Elysia shrieked, scrambling to her feet. "_Treason_?"

"Rhetorically," Kankuro droned, though he too shuffled to his feet, followed closely by Bec. "Although, who knows? After the shitty day I've had, it's likely that _someone's _blood is gonna be spilled today."

"Surano...?" Bec gasped as he caught sight of the trio of figures.

"Lord Kankuro," The new Chuunin addressed, ignoring the older shinoibi's shocked revelation. "Lady Temari wants you immediately. We have orders from bother her and Lord Kazekage to send you this message."

"And Temari thought it took _three _of you to tell me this?" The puppetmaster scoffed, scanning the trio as one of his eyes squint shut. "You guys must be more incompetent than I gave you credit for."

The other male flanking Surano's left side bristled, only to be shushed by the female on his right.

_"These are Temari's students,"_ Elysia realized as her eyes rested on Hoshi, the only thing she understood of everything that was beginning to unfold.

"We're going straight to border patrol," The konoichi explained softly with a curt bow to the Jounin. "These were Lord Kazekage's direct orders."

"_Border patrol_..." Kankuro repeated dryly. "Yeah, _right_. I'll show you what I think of that bullshit."

"You think we're lying?" Saruno challenged softly.

The shinobi still gave Elysia the same creepy vibes she had felt from him since the moment she'd first seen him during the Chuunin Exams in the Leaf village.

"Not of your own choice," The puppet master clarified, "But right now, I don't trust Gaara and Temari, or their so-called motives. So, Bec..."

He turned to gaze at his student, who stood erect at the mention of his name.

"Sensei?"

"Round up Yuuto and Kazue. The three of you are going to help these guys."

Bec's lips twitched uncertainly, as if he wanted to argue. Instead, he bit his tongue against any arguments he had and nodded his understanding.

"Border patrol... Why suddenly does the Sand need border patrol?" The noble murmured nervously, her voice barely above a whisper.

"After you've got them, head outside the village and search for the three of them. If you are unable to locate all three of them, report back to me. If you see them do anything suspicious outside of patrol, report back to me. I'll have to go deal with Gaara myself."

"Kankuro!" Elysia voiced angrily, her irritability getting the best of her. "Tell me what is going on, now."

"In a minute."

"No, not in a minute! _Now_. What is happening to the Sand? Why does the village suddenly require such fortification? Despite being in a war, the village was not like this when I arrived..."

"Orders clear, Bec?" Kankuro continued quickly, continuing to push the noble's interrogation to the back of his mind.

"Yes, sensei."

"Then go." With a sneer, he turned to the pupils of his elder sister. "Goes for _you_, too. Go do your border patrol."

The four shinobi vanished in a wisp of smoke, and the noble assaulted the weary puppeteer again.

"_Kankuro_!"

"Woman, I'm three seconds from tossing you off of this damn roof," He threatened, though the tone of his voice hinted at some degree of seriousness.

"You would not dare."

"I dunno about that. Probably would be better for you than what _could _happen."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The noble's tone returned to its former softness despite the tense frustration that had overtaken her body.

"I wouldn't feel right telling you without Gaara being around, so... ask him yourself?"

"Why do you not just tell me yourself?" Elysia demanded irritably.

"Because it's not something you wanna hear from my mouth, and when you go to kill someone, I don't want to be the only one around."

"Stop beating around the bush! _Tell me_!"

"I can't, kiddo."

"Why the hell not?"

"He knows better than to open his mouth."

The sand whipped furiously atop of the roof, but not from the oncoming sandstorm. With a sigh, Kankuro sat back down, folding his hands in his lap, watching as his brother materialized in front of him.

"Your timing's great, Gaara," The Jounin commented drily. "So when's Temari gonna crash the party?"

"I told you to contact the Nobles," The Kazekage murmured angrily.

"Must have slipped my mind," Kankuro droned listlessly.

"I am tired of being kept in the dark like this," Elysia announced boldly, stepping between her husband and brother-in-law. She turned to face the former, glaring at him coldly. "Kankuro insists you are the only person with the moral... ah, _rights _to tell me what is going on here, and how it concerns me. So you will tell me, and you will tell me now what I want to know."

"And what might that be?" Gaara asked darkly.

"I do not care about the militaristic affairs of this village. They do not interest me in the least. What _does _interest me, however, is how far you are all willing to go out of your way to so blatantly hide something from me, and then to turn around and feel _guilt _for keeping it from me." The noble glowered angrily as she spoke, and took a step closer to the sand user. "It must be pretty bad for Kankuro to come running to me out of guilt, and then for him to so obviously harbor shame for feeling that guilt. So tell me... why should he feel so guilty?"

"You should ask _him _that," The Kazekage retorted maliciously, offering his elder brother a dirty look, who avoided the gaze of both his sibling and his wife.

"He will not tell me. So now I am asking you."

"Tyjumae-"

"This is about my father?" Elysia moaned, her heart sinking into her abdomen as her entire being filled with an ominous sense of dread.

"Yes. He's dead," Gaara finished coldly.

The noble coughed, choking on the air that seemed to be caught in her throat.

It felt as if the Kazekage had reached inside of her chest, and torn out the last shred of love she'd been capable of feeling. She'd spent the majority of her life hating the man, but Gaara's blunt words placed a despair in her heart she wasn't aware she could have felt for him.

And yet, she felt an intense shame for not doing something _extreme _to express her mourning. So, she tried to scream and cry out. Instead, her body shuddered violently as if rejecting such an action. The noble double over as her body rocked with vicious coughing, her throat squeezing shut to refuse the pained sound from escaping her mouth.

She reached up and stroked at her cheeks, only to find that they were as dry as they'd ever been.


	15. Chapter 15

"She isn't half as angry as I'd thought she'd be."

"So what?" Temari retorted. She unclasped the belt at her waist, tossing her scrolls onto her dresser. "Gaara didn't get all emotional when he learned of our father's death."

"Yeah, well, that was _Gaara_," Kankuro argued. "Besides, he's a ninja, and shinobi don't act like that."

"_You _were the one who pointed out that she wouldn't feel remorse for his death, since they weren't very close," the konoichi reminded her brother.

"She handled the news of his death like a shinobi!"

Temari knelt down and began to untie her shinguard.

"I don't see why it has you so bent out of shape, Kankuro. You should be grateful she reacted that way, because frankly, we don't have time to deal with her even if she _is _mourning. If she had decided to act out, that would just mean more problems for us. So, count your blessings, alright?"

She straightened her posture, the small pieces of armor in her hands.

"Besides, I don't have any answers for you. It's not like I'm her confidant or anything. She rarely speaks to me at all, and she associates with Gaara even less."

Placing the shingaurds on her bed, she turned to the puppeteer before resting her hands on her hips.

"If you're so interested in her all of a sudden, then why don't you go talk to her yourself?"

Kankuro haunched over his hands, folding them in his lap as he briefly contemplated his sister's suggestion.

"Nah."

* * *

"You're being completely unreasonable."

"I am _not_. I just don't wanna go."

"Which is _why _you're being unreasonable."

"Hey, you shut up!"

The konoichi's nose flared in anger, her irritation tugging further at the corner of her comrade's lips.

"What's the matter, Hana?" He teased, chuckling darkly to himself. "Don't want to see the Kazekage again?"

"He's _married _now," Hana protested angrily, her fingers tightening around her tube of bright purple lipstick. She spun in her chair, facing the mirror hung on the wall. "and I don't mess with _married _men."

"You sound mad, Hana..." Diemo chuckled gleefully. "You _know _it shouldn't come as a surprise. The councils of both the Sand and Stone villages been nagging at the two to find suitors for _years_... To marry the Kazekage in the name of peace is something you could have easily foresaw, Hana, had you chose to open your eyes a fraction of an inch, you know. She went to forge an alliance with the Land of Wind. But now, look at the mess she's left behind..."

He waved his hand dramatically towards the nearest window.

"We've been attacked several times by the Sound. Since the alliance was made, the attacks haven't let up- they've only gotten worse. Tyjumae's dead. Lord Takuma will have to take his place, and even he's got one foot in the grave. Soon, the only Noble the Earth will have to its name is Galein, and he's just a child. He'll be, what? _Twelve _next month? Left alone, Lady Elysia could be targeted next."

"Your point?" Hana mumbled carefully, dragging the tube of lipstick over her mouth.

"My point is that you _have _to go, like it or not. We both do. To protect Lady Elysia, in case the Sand village decides that she's nothing more than dead-weight to them, and choose to... oh, you get the picture. Besides, it's Lord Tsuchikage's orders. And who knows?"

The shinobi shrugged nonchalantly, his grin widening. "It could be fun."

* * *

"The Leaf? What the hell are _they _doing here?"

"Apparently, Lord Hokage sent them here as reinforcements," Bec explained. "To... back up the war effort. They say that they _had _orders to help the Sand apprehend the feudal lord's kidnapper, and to rescue Tyjumae... Well, now, it's just to catch the murderer."

"Good of Naruto to tell us he was sending a squad," Kankuro grumbled.

"Yes, ah... That's just like the Hokage, isn't it, Lord Kankuro?"

"Got that right."

The puppeteer sighed, massaging his temple in a vain attempt to soothe the headache that had crept up on him.

"Alright. This is what we're gonna do. Escort them on up to Gaara. Explain the situation, and why they're here. He can decide from there what to do with 'em."

Cracking his knuckles, the Jounin wordlessly turned away from the Chuunin.

"Uhh... Kankuro-sensei? What are you going to do?"

**"If you're so interested in her all of a sudden, then why don't you go talk to her yourself?"**

_"Because I'm not her babysitter. I'm not..."_

"I'm going to get rid of this headache. Been killing me all day."

* * *

"I'm glad Naruto informed me he was sending a three-man unit to my village," Gaara sneered, rolling his eyes.

"Lord Kankuro said the same thing!" Bec laughed.

A harsh glare from the Kazekage promptly silenced him.

"Lord Kazekage, in Naruto's defense, shouldn't you be _glad _he sent reinforcements to help track down the perpetrator?" The pink-haired medic challenged, stepping boldly forward. "I mean, you have to worry about informing the Land of Earth, and the war effort. With us here, tracking down the feudal lord's murderer, that's one thing off your plate."

"Not quite," Gaara objected dryly, resting his cheek on his fist.

"What do you mean? Of course it's one less thing! We'll find the person, or people that did this, and-!"

"Sakura," Kakashi promptly objected. "Even though we're here, Gaara didn't have any forewarning, since Naruto once again failed to inform him. Besides..." He cast his eyes to the Kazekage. "We're still here to be the bearer of more bad news."

The sand user sighed, before waving his hand for the Leaf Jounin to continue.

"The Stone attempted to send word to the Sand first, but never received an answer. So, they sent a shinobi here with the message. He was attacked, and his murder confirmed. It's been assumed from this information that the first message was intercepted. They sent a second message to the Leaf, and that one went through. Because of this, we have to question the enemy's tactical position, since we cannot assume that the enemy simply overlooked the message, allowing it to pass through to Naruto."

"We can conclude that because of the timing in which contact between the Sand and Stone has been cut off... and the feudal lord's murder... they were both orchestrated by a _third _party, not by the Sound or the Lightning," Gaara mused aloud.

"Yes. This was most likely the work of Sea Country."

"But, aren't they allies of the Sound and Lightning, too?" Temari pressed firmly. "Why would they place a spy to intercept communication from the Sand and Stone, but not between the _Leaf _and Stone?"

"Not unless they are scapegoats of the Sound," Neji answered swiftly.

"... Meaning?" Gaara demanded.

"Meaning that the Sound and Lightning Countries have used their new ally's distance against them. They're severely leaving the Sea Country out of the loop. It's possible they will use the nation to weaken the Sand, while focusing their concerns elsewhere." Kakashi finished solemnly.

"They've been at a stalemate with us for five years," Temari reasoned soberly. "To suddenly fear that they can't take us anymore..."

"The Leaf's council Elders think it was the pressure of our alliance with the Stone," Kakashi revealed. "Two against two, they were holding their own. Throw the Earth into the fight, and then, well... suddenly, they're not so sure of themselves against a large, barbaric and fearless nation of shinobi renown for their brutality."

"That's true..." Temari agreed with a sigh.

Bec scratched the nape of his neck, a revelation sudden struck him.

"Wait! What would the Sound gain from not fully notifying Sea Country? Even if they think of Sea Country merely as scapegoats... Doesn't that just further put the Sound and Lightning at jeopardy?"

"For whatever reason, they want the Sea's full attention on the Stone and Sand," Neji explained calmly. "The Leaf has gathered that it was Sea Country responsible for Tyjumae's murder. And it is Sea Country keeping communication from passing between the Sand and Stone. I'm not sure why our enemy would do such a thing, but I think it's possible that they want Sea Country to leave the Leaf alone."

"That's idiotic!" Bec exploded, pounding his fists into the sides of his head.

With a harsh glare from Gaara, he faded back into scenery.

"You should go find Kankuro," Temari advised him softly. "He needs to be here. To hear this. He'll be furious already when he realizes how much he's already missed."

"Right," The Chuunin mumbled half-heartly, before slinking shamefully from the room.

* * *

"My man!"

Todara's long mane of dark, shaggy hair blew in soft wisps around his tanned face as he darted into the saloon upon seeing his comrade. Kankuro lifted his glass slightly off of the table in an unspoken salute.

"Yo."

Todara's grin wavered, seeing the scowl on his friend's face.

"Kankuro. You look like you dog just died."

"I don't have a dog," The puppet master snapped before raising the glass to his lips.

"If you did."

The Jounin stared at the puppeteer a moment longer, his smile replaced by a deep frown.

"Something wrong, my man? I can tell. You never drink when your brother's in a meeting. Isn't like you."

"It's nothing," Kankuro grumbled irritably.

"Doesn't look like _"nothing" _to me."

He had decided in his mind to hold his tongue in front of his friend, pursing his lips together firmly, only to make the mistake of looking his best friend in the eyes.

Kankuro slammed the glass down on the table, spinning towards his ally in an angry frenzy.

"Why the hell am I the only one worried about it? Gaara's _married _to her, and Temari's the chick! They should be the first ones to be upset for her! But so far, she hasn't gotten shit! Gaara hasn't even told the village of Tyjumae's death, because the old bastards don't think it would be wise, letting everyone think that our enemy has one up on us. Since the second she agreed to marry him, Gaara's let her go. Temari doesn't care so long as she longs presentable in public. Neither give a real shit about Elysia's well-being. She didn't even let on that her father's death bothered her. I _know _that it did! But who gives a shit? _No _one, that's who! So why in the _hell _am I the only one who's fucking flippin' over this bullshit? Why does it matter to _me_?"

"Good question, my man," Todara mused softly, swiping Kankuro's glass from the table.

He held the cup to his eyes, staring at his friend through the glass.

"Why _do _you care?"

"I don't know! Why the fuck do you think I'm asking _you_?"

"Alright, alright," The Jounin sighed in resignation. He slid the glass back towards the puppeteer across the table. "No need to get testy."

"You're an ass," The puppeteer sneered, shielding the glass protectively with his hands.

"Oh, _I'm _the ass?" Todara laughed mockingly as his brow arched and he pointed to his chest.

"Shut up, asshole."

"Seriously, though, my man," Todara pressed, ignoring the puppet user's order. "If you don't stop ranting in public like that, people are gonna you're one angry mofo. That is, if they don't catch what you're saying first, and all the measures for discretion that the Council is trying to keep come undone."

"I sound like a little whiny bitch," Kankuro grumbled distastefully, glaring at the alcohol in his hands.

"Nah."

"No?"

Kankuro rose his eyebrow in curiosity, giving his full attention to his comrade.

"You sound like you care about your brother's wife."

"I wouldn't-!" The puppet master began to fume.

"No, no!" Todara corrected, swatting at the air dismissively. "Not like _that_, you lecher. Damn, my man, your mind really is always in the gutter, isn't it?"

"You're an-"

"Ass," The Jounin finished quickly with a curt laugh. "I know. Something tells me you've mentioned it once or twice."

Kankuro grunted, rubbing his thumbs over the grooves in the glass.

"As a _friend_."

Todara snorted as he rolled his eyes in exasperation, then offered Kankuro a congratulatory slap on the back.

"Now you've got it, my man."

"We have nothing in common. Besides, it's unprofessional to develop a relationship with her when her being here is strictly... business. Like it always is."

Todara snickered, shaking his head as he leaned into his comrade, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"_Unprofessional _was hitting on that liaison broad when she came here to plead her case on behalf of the welfare of her country, only to be verbally assaulted by your lame pick-up lines. There's nothing wrong with being kind to your brother's wife, on the other hand."

Kankuro chuckled softly, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back into his stool.

"Psht. What are you talking about? She was _totally _into me."

"If by, "_into_" you mean "_disgusted by_", then yeah, my man. She _so _was into you."

The puppeteer laughed, the memory of the beautiful woman's distorted face surfacing in his mind.

"Yeah, she was a bit distracted, wasn't she? I guess it really wasn't good timing on my part."

"You say whatever helps you sleep at night, my man."

"You're an-"

"Ass. I know."

"I was going to say "_bastard_", but yeah. You're that too."

"Kankuro-sensei!"

"Oh, shit..."

The puppet master ducked his head down, any joy he'd previously managed to grasp hold of quickly smothered like a dying flame.

"The kid?"

"_Seeeeenseeeeei_!"

"What do _you _think?" Kankuro demanded angrily, glaring at his friend. "Probably came to get me to go back with him to Gaara's meeting... Well, that shit ain't happenin'."

Todara sighed, before snatching the glass from the fingertips of the puppeteer. He brought the glass to his lips, and sipped on the alcohol as Kankuro watched in jealous fury. Both Jounin turned to face the entrance, a mask of horror donning Kankuro's features as both waited with bated breath.

"You really think the kid will come in here?" Todara murmured skeptically.

As if response, Bec ducked through the entrance of the saloon, craning his neck as his eyes scanned the room.

"He knows you much better than I've ever given him credit for. Kudos to him."

"Shut up, asshole," Kankuro groaned, sliding further down into his seat.

"Tell you what, my man," The Jounin concluded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'll distract the kid. You slip out. But only if you promise me that you'll pay a much-needed visit to the new princess."

"_'Princess'_?" Kankuro repeated slowly, arching a brow.

"Your new sister-in-law?"

"I know who you meant. Elysia's no, '_princess_'."

"Whatev, my man. What's it gonna be?"

The puppeteer threw a hesitant glance in Bec's direction. The Chuunin was currently harassing the bartender, who promptly jerked his thumb in the general direction of the two partners-in-crime.

"Alright!" Kankuro hissed quickly, nodding his head fervently in extra confirmation. "Whatever will keep me out of that boring ass meeting!"

"One distraction, coming up!" Todara piped cheerfully.

The Jounin bolted out of his seat, ambushing the Chuunin without mercy. He waved Kankuro's now empty glass above his head, blocking the puppeteer from view.

"I heard you could hold your alcohol, my man! Why didn't you tell me you were a natural, walking keg?"

Kankuro stole his chance, and crouched down beside his stool. Bringing his hands together, he vanished in a wisp of smoke.


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry about the wait. I can't believe it's already been so long since my last update! Between college and work, things have gotten hectic, but I've no intention of quitting the series.

Pertaining to the last update, a few people were wondering why Elysia wasn't in the previous chapter. Well, I was kind of just setting the stage for this chapter here; chapter sixteen. As you could probably tell, chapter fifteen focused mainly on Kankuro. Basically, the main point I was trying to drive home with that chapter was this: _All the times Gaara pushed Kankuro over into 'babysitting' Elysia have left its mark on him. _Of everyone in the story, if you've been paying attention, Kankuro has been the _only_ one to give her attention in more than just one itty-bitty 'fluff' segment. That chapter showed just how much Elysia really has grown on him. It was the shortest chapter I've written yet for Peace Weaver, and I wondered about how it would be received, because personally, I didn't think that chapter let my potential as a writer shine at all.

But I'm ecstatic to say that I was wrong; most who reviewed loved that I took the time to write from Kankuro's perspective, and that it was no less well-written that what I usually post. And that contents me.

... For now.

* * *

His lips puckered, emitting a low, yet perverse, whistle.

"An' you let Temari do that?"

"Not like I had a choice."

Elysia had been adorned with silk and precious gems as royalty once again, courtesy of Temari. This time, the kunoichi's color of choice had been blue.

**"To match Gaara's Kazekage robe,"** as Temari had explained, a glazed look of endearment in her inky teal eyes.

Today, her obi was a silvery shade, the gown itself embroidered with silver and the pale lavender design of entwining plum branches hemmed into the sleeves.

Though the noble had once loved the feeling of silk on her fingers, the material was beginning to wear out its welcome with her.

The Jounin didn't wait for a reply. His eyes widened, his head slowly turning in Todara's direction as he addressed him, but never taking his eyes off of the noble.

"Kankuro better be grateful that she's Lord Kazekage's woman," Aramae whispered huskily into Todara's ear. "Otherwise, I just might hafta-"

"You wouldn't do _shit_, lecher," Kankuro growled irritably from behind the duo.

The puppet master had crept up behind the two, only to hear the shinobi voicing his perverse thoughts on his sister-in-law. His eye squint shut in frustration, while Todara cautiously inched away from the pair in fear of Kankuro's impending wrath.

"Don't bet on that," the Jounin assured his comrade. He turned his head and winked coyly at the puppeteer, who bristled at the gesture.

Elysia's eyes narrowed angrily at the men and their conversation.

"Gaara would have your head on the end of a pole," She droned solemnly, though she silently wondered if she had reason to doubt her own words.

Aramae, however, cringed at the threat, while Todara chuckled.

"Oh, she's dark," He murmured, his voice laced with amusement.

"Nah," Kankuro clarified with an uneasy laugh as his hand began to rub his neck. "She's just being moody right now."

"_'Moody'_?" The noble snapped in her agitation, quickly forgetting that the shinobi had just defended her against his friend's suggestive advances. She grasped her kimono in her fists, hiking the skirt of her garment up as her narrowed eyes became little more than slits and she prepared herself for the rant she was about to launch into. "I am forced to play along with you and your siblings' attempts to suck-up to your Councils time and time again, knowing full-well that I will only be degraded and tossed aside afterwards, without thanks or form of gratitude otherwise, and you have the audacity to brush my irritability so casually aside as "_moodiness_"?"

"Gotta be done," Kankuro explained lazily, unwilling to fight with her, his hands dropping to his sides.

Elysia pursed her rose-painted lips firmly together in contempt.

"Luckily for us, she knows this already," Groaned an unenthusiastic feminine voice.

Kankuro offered the kunoichi a curt wave, while the noble refused to acknowledge the woman in the slightest.

"Todara, Aramae. It's time you two left."

"Not without my main man Kankuro!" The typically modest, dark haired Jounin protested boldly. "If we have to leave, then I'm stealing him."

"No you are not," Temari pressed firmly. "We have nobles from the nations of the Sand and Leaf village here, and we can't afford any distractions. We need Kankuro present this time. Today is _important_."

"Yes, today _is _important!" Todara continued desperately. "You and Gaara and his wife take care of business. But today I get myself hitched, and my best man is going to be there!"

The kunoichi sighed, lifting her hand to her temple as she closed her eyes.

"What time is this thing?"

"It's my _wedding_!"

"Right, whatever. When is it?"

Todara scowled, but held his furious tongue against the sister of the Kazekage, barely holding choice words at bay.

"The ceremony begins at noon," He replied, placing his temper beneath his thumb. "But Kankuro has to be there early. He's my best man!"

"Yes, I've gathered that much," The shinobi droned, displeased with the idea of having to negotiate. "Look, we need Kankuro present for this. According to the Leaf shinobi that arrived this morning, it's crucial, in which case he _has _to be there for this, to hear them out."

Todara folded his arms across his chest, the scowl remaining plastered on his face.

"But you'll let him go by noon?"

"If the meeting's over."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then he can't."

"Temari, you're being unfair!" Aramae piped up, waving his clenched hands around above his head in a frenzy. "Have them summarize the crap for all Kankuro cares!"

Temari pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling curtly and reopening her eyes as she did so.

"You know what? I'll let Gaara deal with it. Then _he _can decide what's more important for Kankuro to attend- One couple's wedding, or the decision of the future of a crippled nation."

Heaving a defeated sigh, Kankuro submitted to his elder sister's logic.

"Todara, business is business. You know I'll make it to your wedding if I can, but if not... Aramae would look better in that suit than I would."

"Damn straight I would," the Jounin in question agreed solemnly. "But this isn't a fashion contest, Kankuro."

"Yeah, I get that... But what can you do? Duty calls."

Kankuro shrugged, and then scratched the back of his head, turning to the females of the group.

"Alright, let's get the ball rolling on this, so I can be done with it all the quicker."

Todara's nose flared, dissatisfied with the outcome of the argument. The usually level-headed Jounin cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted, dropping his timid ways like a bad habit.

"You forget about this, Kankuro, and I swear I'll poison your next damn drink!"

* * *

Bringing her finger to her chin, the councilwoman used her free hand to point at the Leaf Jounin standing before her.

"So, what you're trying to say is, we're screwed, right?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, a scowl quickly crossing his face.

"That's not at all what I'm saying."

"So, what you're trying to say is… the Land of Earth is screwed?"

"Forgive me, Sakou, but are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"

Chuckling darkly, Sakou nodded her understanding.

"I'm summarizing, you humorless child."

"But that doesn't even…"

With a curt sigh, Neji dismissed the conflict with the seemingly irrational elder. Another of the council elders seized the opportunity to address the Kage of the Sand.

"So you see, Lord Kazekage..." Ichizo began explaining, "This alliance with the Sand and Leaf village has not helped the Stone at all. It has only cursed them."

"You think they will renounce their alliance with us?"

"It isn't out of the question."

"Actually… I believe it is," The young, pink-haired medic intervened hopefully.

"Care to explain?" The elder challenged, his tone mocking.

"They can't sever ties with us. Surely, they see that in doing that, they would only be signing their own death warrant. They _need_ us, more than we need them."

"Without any allies at all, they will be entirely at the mercy of the Sound, Lighting and Sea countries," Neji pointed out in agreement with the young medic. "Their "natural defenses" would hardly make a difference, because they would be crushed in a week."

Several sets of eyes stole glances at Elysia, hoping to see a glimpse of concern, or terror, etched onto her face. Others didn't mind so much, and blatantly stared at her, patiently awaiting her reaction. Feeling their piercing stares, the noble set her jaw stubbornly, refusing to bear her heart on her sleeves to these curious, unsympathetic spectators. Gaara, however, breathed a sigh of disinterest, curling his fingers into a fist, resting his elbow on his desk as he laid his cheek on his hand.

"Let me speak to them," The noble suggested softly. "The news of their lord's death would be more sincere coming from the tongue of his only child."

"How do you intend to speak to your nation's superiors?" Ichizo retorted coldly. He turned to the Kazekage as he began to plead his case. "With an assassin, perhaps more than one murderer, on the loose, she can't possibly be sent back to her village _now_. Even with a squad of competent shinobi, it's still far too dangerous of a move, Lord Kazekage. We would end up having to explain ourselves to their nation with _two_ of their lives stolen in our lands."

"I will not have to leave the safety of my quarters," Elysia swiftly replied, a subtle frown crossing her lips. "The shinobi from the Earth will be here within the week. Of that you can be sure."

"Within the week?" Kankuro blurted out incredulously. "Why in the world would they come here?"

"You said so yourselves that the Land of Earth was not faring well at all. When their only political lord comes up missing, they will come looking for answers, and expecting support from their allies. They are not ones to procrastinate or dawdle aimlessly when it comes to warfare. They, more than most, know the risks they run when they allow important matters of war to go on unattended, and they will always deal with them quickly."

Her eyes shifted to the nearest Leaf shinobi, standing a few feet from her, Kakashi.

"They will send a squad to your village as well. They will desire help, and will expect to receive it quickly."

"Then it doesn't sound like much of a problem anymore to me," Kankuro piped up hopefully. "So we wait for them to come here and explain it then. Elysia can throw in her two cents, Gaara can add his apologizes, and we can agree to help them catch the perpetrators. Everybody's happy."

"We have no way of catching the murderers now," Temari droned bitterly. "We recovered the body a few days ago, and who knows how long it's been since he was actually killed? Tyjumae obviously wasn't wandering around by himself inside of the Sand's borders alone… He must've been kidnapped and killed outside of his own nation, and then his body relocated to Sand territory in an attempt to frame us. If I had to put a date on it, I'd say that he's been dead at least a week, maybe longer. But we can't even be sure of that with nothing to go on."

"Chalk that up to one more thing I don't understand about this war," Gaara scoffed.

Elysia furrowed her brow at the Kazekage's bored confession. Struck by a sudden thought, the young Kage raised his head, turning his attention to his sister.

"Temari. I assume that the shinobi from Sea Country is still in custody?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I want you to try interrogating him again."

Kankuro's shoulders sagged in defense of his sister.

"But he never says anything. It's like he doesn't even know his country has been fighting in a war…

"He knows _something_. Find out what."

"Got it," Temari replied quickly before her brother could argue, sending Kankuro a sharp, reprimanding glare before she dismissed herself from the room.

With a sigh, Gaara addressed the remaining people in the room. Kankuro, however, silently removed himself from the conversation, casting a nervous glance to the window. How long had he been here? What time was it now? Had Todara's wedding already begun? His eyes cut apprehensively to Elysia. He still hadn't had the 'chat' with her he had promised Todara. He snapped back to reality several minutes later, as he watched the Leaf shinobi file from the room, blinking quickly as he wondered what he'd missed, and if it even pertained to him at all.

His eyes fell once again to the noble.

"Kankuro," The Kazekage called out, interrupting his elder brother's train of thought.

"Yeah?"

"Take _her_ with you when you leave. It doesn't matter where, just as long as she's out of the way."

He inclined his head slightly in the direction of the noble. Kankuro scoffed in frustration, shaking his head.

"Gaara," Kankuro began his reasoning, "I have a wedding to attend. I promised Todara months ago I'd be there."

"So take her with you."

The puppeteer heaved an irritated sigh, before inhaling deeply. Here, he could take out two birds with one stone. He could reprimand Gaara _and_ speak indirectly to Elysia about how he felt. Though he realized the stakes for challenging his brother, he leaned forward across the Kazekage's desk, the heels of his palms pressed firmly alongside of Gaara's hands. With a low growl, the young sand user glared up at his elder brother.

"If you don't mind-"

"Actually, Gaara, I _do _mind," The puppet master corrected his younger brother softly, watching as the Kazekage's jaw went slack in surprise. "You can't keep shoving your wife onto everyone else to _babysit_. It was your choice when you decided that you wanted to marry her, and not anyone else. You were so adamant about it, but then once you knew you had her under your thumb, you quit. That's bullshit, Gaara. You don't realize it, because you don't pay any attention to her, but your wife would like to be a little more than just a trophy around your arm, or an ornament to show off only when it suits you best. Believe it or not, you're not the only person who's afraid of worthlessness."

Kankuro straightened his posture, glaring down at his brother, who stared up at him with wide, incredulous eyes. Elysia stood stock-still, her jaw clenched firmly. Her eyes fixated on Kankuro, one her hands dropped to her side, blindly searching for the door behind her, instantly desiring an escape from the room. She didn't want to hear Kankuro's angry defenses any longer, and she didn't want to have to see Gaara's reaction to his words. Since he was already on a roll, and with a quick flick of his gaze he noticed the cork still lodged firmly in his brother's gourd, Kankuro pressed on with his new found confidence.

"Besides, at this rate, she'll never let you come anywhere close to her if you mean to do what the Councils want, and have kids with her. To hear her say it, she doesn't quite hate you yet, but you certainly haven't won any brownie points with her. You're worse off with her than when you started."

Gaara's tongue flicked across his dry, cracked lips, digesting his elder brother's words with increasing frustration. His eyes cut angrily to his wife as he watched her slink against the wall.

"And she _told _you these things?"

"No," The Jounin laughed bitterly. "She didn't need to. I've realized that, since I've been around her, I've picked up on some of her... _quirks_, I guess you could say, that you and Temari have missed. I can read her better than either of you can. I can read her better than anyone else."

"Then you should take pleasure in spending such quality time with her," The young Kazekage grumbled irritably, dropping his gaze back down to his desk.

"Damn it, Gaara!" Kankuro spat angrily, swiping aimlessly at the air in his fury. "Have you not heard a thing I've said? You need to be the one who spends time with her. Not me. Not Temari. _You_. She's _your_ wife."

His brow creased with frustration, and lined with his weariness, Gaara cast his hardened eyes back up to his brother once again. Despite his sitting position, the very intimidating aura that he seemed to radiate from every pore began to tempt Kankuro's knees to buckle beneath him.

"I don't need _you_, of all people, to tell me how to treat my wife, Kankuro. I've seen the way you pursue females like a dog might chase after a cat. I don't see _you _making a move to marry. In any case..."

Gaara ran his thumb over the papers before him, splitting the stack. He roughly shoved the top few documents across the desk. His eyes focused themselves, livid, on his elder brother.

"I don't need her sticking her nose around where it doesn't belong. Take her with you to this wedding. _Leave_."

The Kazekage glowered furiously at his brother, sending an all too familiar sensation of fear shuddering down Kankuro's spine. He resolved to cut his losses, inching backwards towards the noble. Upon reaching her, he snatched her wrists in her hands and fled from the office. Once outside the building, Kankuro shook his head, a short chuckle of borderline delirium slipping past his lips.

"Man, that was almost kind of bad, but I think I—"

"Fool!" Elysia cried, beside herself with fury.

The noble furiously tore her hand from the puppet master's loose grasp. Kankuro's steps momentarily faltered, taken aback by her sudden insult.

"What?"

"As if life is not difficult enough to live in this forsaken village, married to that dreadful man, you go and create more animosity in his heart for me! You are, hands down, the most ignorant man I have ever had the displeasure of—!"

"Now just wait a damn second!" The puppeteer growled. "I just tried to defend you. I try to help your relationship with Gaara, and _this_ is the shitty thanks I get?"

"Did you not see the fury in his face?" Elysia demanded angrily, pointing up to the building in which they had just left. "I admit, I did not think the bond your brother and I shared could ever get any worse, but you have just proven me dead wrong. There will be no chance of me gaining his favor anytime soon, because of your inability to hold your tongue!"

"I don't believe this…" Kankuro grumbled irritably under his breath.

Folding his arms across his chest, he began walking in the direction in which he knew from Todara's instruction the wedding would be held.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll follow," He called over his shoulder. "You think your life sucks so bad now, then get lost or worse here. Then you'll really see how bad a love life with Gaara can turn."

The noble glared at her brother-in-law's retreating back. Defiant, she stood in the middle of the road, sure that he would worry, and inevitably return for her. Then, she could have the pleasure of offering him a smug smile as she gloated in her personal victory. Kankuro, however, continued down the road, refusing to cast the noble a fleeting glance towards her. He abruptly made a right turn down another street, vanishing from the noble's sight. Abandoned, her heart sank in misery and in pain. The fear of being swallowed whole in this village, still a strange and foreign place to her, consumed her. She cast down her pride, running after Kankuro before she lost him completely. She halted at the end of the road, where she had seen him turn, and saw him a ways down the same street. Still walking. Still refusing to wait for her, his own defiance greater than hers.

"Don't... Don't you _dare _leave me out here, Kankuro!"

Yelling after him, she chased him down. She trailed him breathlessly, having caught up with him.

For several minutes, the pair walked in silence. The noble seethed with rage every step she took, the turn of events she'd been subjected to becoming increasingly more frustrating to her by the second. Before long, the road became populated with guests and lingering strangers, and a familiar faced loomed in front of them.

"Kankuro, my man! You made it! And with time to spare, too. Gaara must have been merciful."

The puppeteer waved his hand in greeting to his friend, chuckling to himself.

"You have no idea..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Where's that suit at? I'd rather get myself dressed into it now, and not wait until the last minute..."

"Wedding present?"

"What?"

Todara stood on tiptoe, winking slyly at the noble. Kankuro rolled his eyes and cut off Todara before he could speak.

"Suit? And a babysitter would be nice. I ain't watching her all damn evening."

Elysia felt a bubble of anger swell up in her chest, her eyes narrowing in anger at the back of Kankuro's head. Todara winced at the hostility that practically came off of the noble in waves.

"Yeah. Sure thing. My little sister can watch her for a bit."

Todara turned, motioning to a young, dark haired girl still in her teenage years.

"What's up?"

"Miamae, this is Lady Elysia, Lord Kazekage's new wife. Mi'lady, this Miamae, my younger sister. Play nice, you two, and don't be getting into any trouble!"

The groom led Kankuro away from the women before either one could argue about their sudden unknown company.

"So, can I ask you a question without you getting pissed, Kankuro?"

"Depends what the question is," The puppet master retorted bitterly, already having the feeling that he knew what the inquiry might pertain to.

"The question is this... Is making the Lady of the Sand look like she wants to gut you like a fish _really _that good of an idea?"

Todara continued to lead the shinobi inside of a small building, only to be shocked to hear his friend laugh.

"I came here to support you, and have a good time. I'm not even about to get pissed over trivial shit again."

"'Again'? So you _did _do something," Todara concluded stoically.

He rounded on Kankuro as he threw open a door leading to a room lined with formal clothing set aside for the evening's festivities. Kankuro, however, rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I told you already. I'm not dealing with her now."

Frowning, Todara shrugged as he allowed the topic to die.

"Whatev, my man. So, this one's yours," He continued, plucking a tuxedo from the wall as he spoke. "Treat it with respect, and so help me, if you spill anything on it, we will _fight_."


End file.
